Globally, we have directly educated over 200,000 people, convinced 27 financial institutions to invest in grassroots financial education, and Published a comic book; distributed to more than 26,000 youth, (Free of cost), that helps young people reimagine money through stories of joy, resilience, and empowerment. In Kamloops, We have directly impacted over 2,100 youth in the region and were honored with the JA BC New Volunteer Service Award in 2022.
A newly arrived immigrant named Maya joined the Community Based Financial Literacy for Immigrants program led by Prakash Koirala. Having little experience with Canada’s banking system and struggling with language barriers, she found the pictorial guides, comics, and peer mentors helpful. Through practical sessions held at a local community center, Maya learned how to budget, check her credit report, and open her first savings and credit accounts with the program’s partner bank. Thanks to these supports, she gained confidence in managing her finances and took important steps toward her economic independence in her new country.

To advance financial literacy among immigrants, I encourage you to use educational strategies tailored specifically to their unique needs. Prioritize culturally relevant and accessible tools—like visual guides and comics—to effectively overcome the low financial literacy and language barriers that many newcomers face. Engage participants through hands-on, practical activities, such as budget diaries and account-opening workshops, to foster active skill development and retention. Work in close collaboration with trusted local organizations such as settlement agencies and faith centers, delivering programming in participants’ primary languages with the help of bilingual peer mentors. This approach builds trust, increases participation, and makes learning approachable.

As leaders, we should embed programs in welcoming community spaces and address practical participant needs by providing on-site childcare and offering flexible session times. It is important to adapt delivery methods to each community’s local context, while staying grounded in an evidence-informed core curriculum proven to achieve results. By forging partnerships with academic institutions, civic bodies, and financial organizations, we can strengthen impact measurement, secure sustainable funding, and influence relevant policy. Keeping a participant-centered focus, we should incorporate ongoing feedback and continually refine programs for greater effectiveness. I also urge you to champion independent evaluation and ensure transparent reporting to bolster credibility and promote responsible scaling. By combining accessible, hands-on learning with responsive and inclusive leadership, we can empower immigrants to confidently navigate new financial systems, build long-term economic stability, and foster deeper integration within their new communities.

Future plans for Community Based Financial Literacy for Immigrants in Canada include empowering a million immigrants across multiple cities by 2030 supported by rigorous outcome research and multi-sectoral partnerships. Planned activities involve developing a mobile app to help scale delivery, implementing randomized controlled trials with academic partners to measure long-term behavior change, and integrating program modules into national settlement toolkits. Immediate operational goals include finalizing trial protocols, launching public-facing evidence dashboards for transparency, expanding the network of peer mentors, embedding in-class banking kiosks for immediate account and credit access, and securing multi-year, diversified funding. We also aim to maintain cultural fidelity while scaling, strengthen data privacy in outcomes tracking, and establish robust feedback loops for continual improvement.