Dr. Abdelaziz Konsowa: We Are Keen on Equipping Students with Life Skills to Support Sustainable Development Efforts and Achieve Egypt Vision 2030
Dr. Islam Azzam: Broad Prospects for Cooperation, from Awareness and Simulation to Training on Direct and Indirect Investment and Hosting Outstanding Ideas in Financial Technology
Dr. Abdelaziz Konsowa, Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, met with Dr. Islam Azzam, Chairman of the Financial Regulatory Authority, to discuss ways to enhance financial awareness and literacy among students of universities and institutes of all types, and to encourage their engagement in non-banking financial activities, particularly the capital market. This comes within the framework of preparing qualified cadres capable of understanding modern financing tools and adapting to developments in financial markets. The meeting was held at the Private Education Building in New Cairo.
The meeting was attended by Dr. Mostafa Refaat, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Universities; Dr. Maher Mesbah, Secretary-General of the Council of National Universities and Acting Secretary-General of the Council of Private Universities; Dr. Ahmed El-Gioushy, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council for Technological Education and Acting Head of the Education Sector; Dr. Mohamed Abdelaziz, Assistant Chairman of the Financial Regulatory Authority; and Ms. Dina Kamal, Head of the Financial Literacy Portfolio.
The two sides discussed proposed mechanisms for awareness and training activities, as well as opportunities for integrating financial literacy concepts into the educational process, in a manner that contributes to improving students’ competencies, preparing them for the labor market, and enhancing their effective participation in supporting financial inclusion and economic development.
Dr. Abdelaziz Konsowa affirmed the Ministry’s commitment to promoting financial literacy through introducing students to stock exchange and securities market concepts, as well as the importance of saving and investment and reducing consumerist tendencies, thereby contributing to building advanced economic awareness among university students.
The Minister also highlighted the importance of cooperation between the Ministry and the Authority to launch new joint initiatives aimed at deepening financial literacy, encouraging entrepreneurship among students, and equipping them with life skills that contribute to building well-rounded personalities capable of supporting sustainable development efforts and achieving Egypt Vision 2030.
He further pointed to the diversity of the higher education system, which includes public universities, private universities, national universities, technological universities, branches of foreign universities, and institutes, emphasizing that this diversity creates a competitive environment that contributes to advancing the educational system and provides opportunities to intensify cooperation with the Authority through training courses, seminars, and workshops.
For his part, Dr. Islam Azzam stated that the Authority currently aims to expand financial awareness and literacy activities in parallel with the increase in the number of newly registered investors in the securities market to more than 191,000, especially among youth. Statistics revealed that the age group from 18 to 30 years represented more than 55% of all new investors in the stock exchange in 2024, while youth participation in new gold investment funds reached nearly 80%.
He added that the Authority seeks to connect theoretical and practical concepts for students of different age groups with the sectors it supervises, such as insurance, financing in its various forms, and factoring. The Authority is also prepared to launch innovative tools encouraging students to engage in capital market trading through simulation-based investment experiences without real money in direct investment, in addition to encouraging indirect investment in professionally managed funds that generate returns for students.
The Chairman of the Authority also emphasized the importance of another educational and training track through educational videos, courses, and lectures, and building sustainable cooperation with specialized faculties to benefit from students’ ideas in entrepreneurship and financial technology. He noted the possibility of hosting the best ideas at the Authority’s Financial Technology Applications Laboratory (FRA Sandbox) to refine projects related to digital transformation applications, as the Authority seeks to strengthen Egypt’s position as a regional hub for financial technology.
In turn, Dr. Mohamed Abdelaziz delivered a presentation reviewing prospects for university students to benefit from the “I invest” platform and initiative to enhance understanding of non-banking financial services and solutions and facilitate interaction with them. He noted that studies have shown that between 30% and 40% of disparities in wealth among individuals are attributable to differences in financial literacy, in addition to the decisive role such literacy now plays in the success of financial inclusion policies and the development of the national economy from an investment perspective. He also stressed the importance of expanding activities across different governorates and providing a rich and engaging learning experience accompanied by showcasing various youth success stories in non-banking financial sectors.
