Government is to institute a financial education endowment fund to facilitate the frequent organization of the Financial Literacy programme instituted by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning.

This will in turn empower consumers and small businesses to better understand and manage financial risks, deal effectively with market complexities and take advantage of increasing competition in the financial sector.

The Principal Economic Officer at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, Madam Maria Mensah, announced this at a public forum in Kumasi to mark the National Financial Literacy Week.

Among those who attended the forum were representatives of financial institutions and senior public servants.

Madam Mensah disclosed that surveys conducted between 2007 and 2009 to ascertain the depth of financial literacy among urban and rural adult Ghanaians established that nearly half of them did not have full or correct information on what it takes to become financially successful.

It is for this reason that the Ministry initiated the Finscope Ghana Demand Survey in 2010, to identify barriers and highlight opportunities for innovation in both the formal and informal sectors of the economy.

Madam Mensah said the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning in collaboration with the Ghana Education Service and with support from the German International Cooperation, are undertaking a review of Social Studies, Management in Living and Business Management syllabi for senior high schools to include financial education.

She said this is expected to equip students at the senior high school with adequate knowledge in basic financial issues to enable them to make informed decisions with regards to the financial sector.

GBC