Financial literacy takes root across UAE schools and universities through Zoud and HAL Education collaboration

A landmark partnership between Zoud, the National Financial Wellbeing and Sustainability Initiative, and HAL Education will bring practical financial education to over 500 institutions across the Emirates, equipping the next generation with essential money management skills.

The foundations of financial confidence are being laid across the UAE through an ambitious two-year initiative that recognises a fundamental truth: young people equipped with sound money management skills become adults capable of building secure, independent futures. Zoud, the National Financial Wellbeing and Sustainability Initiative, has joined forces with HAL Education to deliver a comprehensive financial literacy programme reaching more than 500 educational institutions, encompassing 400 schools and 110 universities throughout the Emirates.

The partnership reflects a growing understanding that financial literacy is not merely an academic subject but a life skill as vital as reading and mathematics. The curriculum addresses the practical concerns that young people encounter: how to budget effectively, how to save strategically and how to make informed financial decisions that shape their futures. Rather than abstract theory, the programme emphasises real-world application, helping students understand financial concepts through their daily lives and building habits that will serve them throughout their adulthood.

Natalia El Menhall, Programme Director at Zoud, articulates the deeper significance of this work. Investing in financial literacy among younger generations, she explains, strengthens financial wellbeing across society as a whole. When young people develop the knowledge and tools to manage their financial resources, the benefits ripple outward, creating not only more financially skilled individuals but also a more financially aware and resilient community. The initiative seeks to establish financial literacy as an essential life skill, woven into young people’s educational experience from an early stage, enabling them to understand their financial responsibilities and approach their futures with genuine confidence and independence.

The programme unfolds in a carefully structured manner. During the first year, school workshops target students in Grades 7 to 9, with expansion in the second year to include Grades 4 to 9, ensuring age-appropriate content tailored to developing minds. University workshops take a more sophisticated approach, addressing budgeting, banking, saving, credit and financial planning alongside entrepreneurship and introductory investment principles. The learning extends beyond the classroom: separate sessions for parents and teachers raise financial awareness across family and educational environments, creating a unified ecosystem of financial understanding.

Fathima Nazeeha Najimudeen, Founder and CEO of HAL Education, emphasises that financial literacy enables young people to navigate different life stages with confidence. The partnership provides practical learning opportunities grounded in reality, allowing students to develop responsible and sustainable financial habits that extend far beyond their school years. Workshops and practical activities, delivered as part of extracurricular learning, offer hands-on engagement with financial concepts.

The initiative incorporates rigorous measurement of its impact. Assessments conducted before and after workshops track changes in students’ financial understanding, with findings used to continually refine content and delivery, ensuring the programme remains responsive and effective.

What it means for Abu Dhabi

This partnership reinforces the United Arab Emirates’ commitment to preparing its young people for meaningful participation in an increasingly complex financial landscape. By embedding financial literacy into educational systems from primary school through university, the nation invests in the economic resilience of future generations, equipping them with the knowledge to make sound financial decisions that contribute to personal prosperity and national economic stability.

The programme’s reach across both schools and universities, combined with engagement of parents and teachers, represents a holistic approach to financial wellbeing that recognises education’s transformative power. As young people across the Emirates develop genuine financial confidence, they become better equipped to contribute to the nation’s continued economic growth and to build secure, independent futures for themselves and their families.

Source: WAM