Young Social Entrepreneurs Scoop National Award At FINCO Good SENS Dragons’ Den 2022

Team FilPen from SK Luagan, Lawas, Sarawak who mitigated the closures at their flood-prone schools through the sale of tickets to their independent feature film were among the budding social entrepreneurs whose talents shone this week at the final of the Financial Industry Collective Outreach’s (FINCO’s) flagship financial literacy programme, Good SENS.

The programme uses social enterprise as a vehicle to teach upper primary students the concepts of financial literacy in a real-world setting. In its second run, Good SENS’ reach has expanded to include 73 teams from 29 schools across Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Johor and Sarawak. Pupils aged 10 to 12 years participated in the year-long programme during which financial industry mentors, teachers and facilitators from the Social Enterprise Academy Malaysia guided teams through curated modules mapped to the Ministry of Education Malaysia’s financial literacy curriculum.

From selling snacks and stationery to virtual Jukebox requests to earn profit, pupils also demonstrated a keener awareness of social issues through causes ranging from financial aid for communities in need to providing lunch for peers and compost bins for schools.

Commenting on the programme, FINCO Chairman Tan Sri Azman Hashim said, “As a partner of the Financial Education Network (FEN), FINCO Good SENS strategically aligns with the collective efforts under the Malaysia National Strategy for Financial Literacy as well as the Financial Sector Blueprint to equip young people with improved financial capabilities. For our primary school teams, this translated into running an actual business to understand the concepts required to better handle money, including budgeting, trading and channelling profits to support causes they care about.”

The programme wrapped with the FINCO Good SENS: National Dragons Den 2022 where 15 finalist teams had the opportunity to pitch for further investment to a panel of industry professionals at the AICB Building in Kuala Lumpur. The panel of ‘dragons’ included representatives from Public Investment Bank, AmInvestment Bank, Financial Education Network, Agensi Kaunseling dan Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK), Teman Malaysia and International Medical University.

Four winners deemed to have the Best Overall Social Enterprises were announced at FINCO’s Annual Award Ceremony held on the same day officiated by Tan Sri Azman Hashim, FINCO Chairman and Encik Abu Hassan Alshari, Assistant Governor of Bank Negara Malaysia. The respective recipients were Team Boolean Autocrats, SK Agama (MIS) Miri, Sarawak, Team Filpen, SK Luagan, Sarawak, Team Ciku Guys, SK Koris, Johor, Team Power, SJKT Ladang Kinrara, Johor. Each team received investment funding of RM1,500, a further RM1,500 for their school, and an opportunity to learn a new skill with the award-winning social enterprise Batik Boutique.

FINCO CEO Clare Walker said judges were impressed by the creativity, resilience and achievements of the pitching teams. “Each team was able to demonstrate how they managed their finances and confidently answered some very tough questions related to problem solving. It was inspiring to see them present their learning and achievements, and to do so in English was another great accomplishment for many.”

A creative example was SK Luagan’s Team FilPen. According to team lead, Muhamad Baharuddin Aiman bin Bungsu, 12, their goal was to capitalise on their collective talents in cinematography to create awareness about social issues and find a way to limit learning loss from school closures due to flooding. Purchasing boats would enable classmates to access the school’s floating library, ensuring sustained reading when possible. Already, profits from their premier of ‘Bullies’ are sufficient to purchase1 boat. Their investment pitch was focused on expanding their support to other schools in need.

Good SENS, facilitated by Social Enterprise Academy (SEA) Malaysia is also the nation’s first Social Enterprise Network for Schools. As a result, participants remain connected to a network of friends from around the world going through a similar journey with SEA in Scotland, Britain, Australia, Malawi and Egypt. Pupils continue to share best practice in money management, communication and presentation skills.

FINCO’s Annual Award Ceremony also recognised the outstanding achievements and efforts of students, English teachers and school counsellors, as well as financial industry volunteers who participated in FINCO’s programmes which benefitted more than 109,000 primary and secondary students in 2022.

In its fifth year of operations, FINCO aims to harness the collective resources of the financial industry to provide underprivileged children and youth with the guidance and educational tools they need to achieve their life goals. Programmes are centred on the financial industry’s shared goals of improved English proficiency, life aspiration, financial literacy and disaster relief.

FINCO adopts a Public-Private-Partnership approach to programme design and delivery, believing that strategic alignment of shared goals results not only in deeper and more sustainable impact on target beneficiaries but also more efficient use of respective funds and resources.  With this in mind, we have been working closely with the Ministry of Education Malaysia at state and federal level to ensure programmes are aligned with national needs and support key agendas and, in turn, they assist us in identifying the schools that are most in need of support, often hard to reach and which have high intakes of students from B40 communities. This year alone, our collaborative efforts have engaged over 1,800 schools and 109,000 students across Malaysia.

Good SENS (Social Enterprise Network for Schools) is a year-long financial literacy programme for primary school students allowing them to apply financial literacy concepts through designing and running a social enterprise. We believe that this will enable them to learn the skills and behaviours necessary to make sound financial decisions which ultimately contribute towards long term financial well-being.

Working in close collaboration with Bahagian Sukan, KoKurikulum & Kesenian (BSKK), Ministry of Education Malaysia (MOE) and leveraging global best practices by delivery partner Social Enterprise Academy (SEA), Good SENS aligns with MOE’s National Curriculum and the National Strategy for Financial Literacy. In its second year the programme involved over 300 students from 29 primary schools across Negeri Sembilan, Selangor, Johor and Sarawak supported by facilitators, teachers and volunteers from financial institutions.

Prizes and Awards

The judges will select the four best social enterprises based on their financial management, business model and impact on beneficiaries. These will be announced at FINCO’s Annual Awards ceremony on 8 December.

Prizes and Awards are as follows:

• RM1,500 to invest in growing their business, RM1,500 for their school and an individual trophy designed by Biji-Biji Initiative.
• A skills workshop with Batik Boutique.
• The winning team for the People’s Choice Award will each receive RM100 Bookxcess book vouchers each.
• All other finalists are treated to a trip to the Bank Negara money museum.
• A further seven individuals and teams receive certificates for their outstanding achievements in areas such as communication and leadership.
• One Good SENS teacher and one financial industry mentor also receive awards.

73 teams competed in regional heats with 10 progressing to the Dragons’ Den National final and 5 to the National Business Olympiad (returning schools).

Good SENS Finalists Details:

National Dragons’ Den (New Students – Johor):

Good SENS Award Winners