The Africa Center for Media and Financial literacy (ACMFL) in partnership with the Students Representative Council of the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ-SRC) held a webinar themed on 'Financial literacy in the digital age' on Friday, February 5, 2020.

The webinar was aimed at raising awareness of the importance of financial literacy among students.

It also sought to expose students to various digital financial literacy and tools that arm them with the skills to avoid falling victims to Ponzi-schemes and financial cybercrime.

The panelists: Mr. Desmond Bredu, an investment professional at Stanbic Investments, and Madam Asiedua Debrah-Ampomah, Products and platforms manager at DreamOval took turns to explain the need for financial literacy for all, especially the youth.

Mr. Desmond Bredu stated that the youth needed to know "where their money went at the end of the day" he advised students to keep a record of what they spend to avoid overspending. He also reiterated the need for continuous self-education to enhance one's financial knowledge.

Commenting on the impact of impending global health crises on digital finance, Mr. Desmond Bredu said the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the rate at which people engaged in digital financial activities, he hinted that the use of digital finance tools will continue even after the pandemic. "People will want to continue to enjoy financial transactions from the comfort of their homes even after the pandemic", he said.

On her part, Madam Asiedua Debrah-Ampomah, products, and platforms manager at Dreamoval Limited, emphasized the need to ask "the right questions" to avoid being duped through scams and Ponzi schemes.

She advised students to ask enough questions to adequately understand a financial product before they sign on. This according to her would put the individual in the place to either accept or reject a contract if the terms and conditions are or aren't favorable.

Speaking on the need to increase participation of women in digital finance, Madam Asiedu said: "We cannot force women into it, however, we encourage them to use the various financial applications and tools more often".
She also encouraged the attendees to report people and accounts that either try or succeed in duping them to the appropriate authorities to ensure they are held accountable for their actions.

According to her, this should be done because "we owe a social responsibility to each other to make sure these things do not repeat themselves".

Speaking after the event, Mr. Stephen Tindi a Director at the African Centre for Media and Financial Literacy (ACMFL) stated that ACMFL decided to partner with the GIJ-SRC because financial literacy is low among the youth in Ghana. He said such partnerships are part of ACMFL's strategy to target segments of the population to equip them with financial knowledge.

The financial literacy webinar was held via zoom and streamed on Facebook. The panel discussion was moderated by Ms. Elsie Commodore a student Journalist at GIJ, the program was attended by a cross-section of GIJ students, mainly first-year students.