Visa celebrates 10-year milestone of the largest student financial literacy programme in Hong Kong with the first-ever GBA-wide pitch competition
07/16/2024
• The programme has benefited over 90% of all Hong Kong secondary schools over the past decade, with 2024 setting a record of over 18,000 student participants, up 53% as compared with last year
• 15 student teams from Hong Kong, Macau and other GBA cities showcased their creative ideas in fintech to promote sustainable economic development and tourism
• Dr. Choi Yuk-lin, Secretary for Education and Darryl Chan, Deputy Chief Executive, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, along with 20 partner organisations, and over 150 students and teachers participated in the 10th anniversary to celebrate a decade of commitment to "nurturing a smarter financial future for all"
Visa, a world leader in digital payments, is celebrating the 10-year anniversary of the Hong Kong Financial Literacy Championship (‘Championship’). As part of this milestone and for the first time ever, the Championship extended its invitation beyond Hong Kong to secondary schools from the other Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities, in an inaugural GBA-wide pitching competition. The 2024 Championship consisted of two components: a 3-week online financial knowledge quiz, and a Young Financial Talent Runway (‘Runway’) that included career skills training, industry mentorship, corporate visits, and a Grand Pitch involving 15 student teams representing schools from across the GBA.
This year’s Championship attracted over 18,000 participants, with online financial knowledge quiz submissions reaching a record high of 31,600 entries, a year-on-year growth rate of 60%. Over the past decade, the programme has benefited over 90% of all Hong Kong secondary schools.
Launched in 2014, the Championship is an award-winning financial education programme that has empowered tens of thousands of secondary students across Hong Kong with the essential financial knowledge, practical money skills, and entrepreneurial values to unlock their potential as future leaders in finance. The 10th anniversary commemorates a steadfast partnership between Visa, the Education Bureau, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and various industry stakeholders. Together, they are nurturing the next generation of financial talent and paving the way for a smarter financial future for all.
GBA-wide pitching competition nurtures the region’s diverse talent pool with winning teams from Hong Kong, Dongguan, and Guangzhou
As part of Visa’s decade-long commitment to developing young financial talent, this year’s Runway expanded to involve 15 school teams. As part of the Grand Pitch competition that took place on 13 July, the first-ever GBA Invitational Match invited five schools beyond Hong Kong from other GBA cities, including Macau, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Dongguan, to participate in a friendly competition with the winning team from the Hong Kong Grand Pitch competition.
Achieving an unprecedented feat, the team from Hong Kong’s DMHC Siu Ming Catholic Secondary School was recognized as the overall Champion in both the Hong Kong Grand Pitch and the GBA Invitational Match. Judges praised the team’s “Find Your Own Kwun Tong” project idea for proposing creative methods to promoting community development. Meanwhile, the team from Dongguan’s Jinan University School for Children of Hong Kong and Macao clinched first runner-up in the GBA Invitational Match for their creative idea on supporting small-sized roast goose restaurants with their “Dongguan Roast Goose CITY GO” proposal, with Guangzhou No.3 Middle School coming in as second runner up for their proposal on promoting historical streets and sights with their “NovaSpark” idea.
All teams were tasked to develop a unique proposal to identify a community, cultural or historical site, or an area in their city and develop solutions to promote the sustainable growth of the local economy, while leveraging financial technology. They then creatively presented their business case in a three-minute elevator pitch format that impressed the panel of judges consisting of seasoned business and financial representatives from Visa, Education Bureau, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong Education City, St. James’ Settlement, Young Founders School, KPMG China and Hong Kong Economic Journal.
“As we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Hong Kong Financial Literacy Championship, this milestone reaffirms Visa's long-standing commitment to Hong Kong and in nurturing the next generation of talent,” said Paulina Leong, General Manager of Visa Hong Kong and Macau. “We are incredibly proud of the students and the remarkable ideas that they showcased during the Championship, which underscores the success of the programme and demonstrates that financial education can ignite powerful ideas at an early age. This year’s Championship with its expanded network of participating schools from other Greater Bay Area cities has also created lasting friendships, connections and learning opportunities for the students. The Greater Bay Area isn’t just about today’s foundations; it’s a canvas for tomorrow’s possibilities.”
Cross-boundary mentorship inspires future leaders with fresh perspectives and new possibilities
14 industry specialists and veterans across different disciplines from Hong Kong were invited to mentor the shortlisted school teams and share their insights around business planning and pitching techniques to help students prepare their proposals for the final competition. This cross-boundary mentorship effort helped students better understand the importance of cross-border collaboration and pave way for a smarter, more connected and inclusive financial ecosystem.
The 14 participating industry professionals (in alphabetical order) came from AXA General Insurance Hong Kong Limited, China Construction Bank (Asia), DBS Bank (Hong Kong) Limited, Global Payments, HK Tramways, Klook, Link REIT, MTR Corporation Limited, Nan Fung Development Ltd, New World Development Company Limited, S&P Global Ratings, Yedpay, ZA Bank, and 100 Women in Finance.
Annie Cheng, Head of Corporate Communications, Greater China at Visa, said “Ten years ago, we developed and unveiled the Hong Kong Financial Literacy Championship. From humble beginnings, it has blossomed into something extraordinary, with thousands of students participating from across the Greater Bay Area. The programme has become a beacon of financial education, which fills us with pride. Success would not have been possible without partners with shared vision of instilling young people with financial capabilities and confidence. By inspiring and investing in the next generation, we aim to foster continued innovation and shape a smarter, more inclusive financial future.”
The Hong Kong winning team from DMHC Siu Ming Catholic Secondary School wows judges with innovative proposal
The DMHC Siu Ming Catholic Secondary School from Hong Kong secured the title of overall champion in this year’s Hong Kong Grand Pitch as well as in the GBA Invitational Match. The team won over the judges with their innovative idea to revitalize the Kwun Tong district, with creative methods to promote community development. According to the judges, the team demonstrated a solid and practical idea, exceptional financial acumen and pitching skills, and a clear understanding of how to apply the solution in a real-world scenario even potentially across different communities.
“Inspired by the Education Bureau’s recent initiative of bolstering financial literacy education and increasing interest and practices in financial education, we decided to assemble a team to participate in the competition. I was thrilled when I received the news that our student team had won the championship. It was immensely gratifying to witness the fruits of the students’ unwavering dedication and hard work. Through this competition, our students have gained invaluable insights into the thought processes of business leaders, going beyond the confines of textbook finance to explore real world applications and practising socially relevant problem-solving strategies.” said Jerry Au, teacher at DMHC Siu Ming Catholic Secondary School.
Hong Kong Financial Literacy Championship, supported by Visa for a decade, celebrates its 10-year milestone with 20 partner organisations in attendance and over 150 students and teachers from Hong Kong, Macau and other GBA cities. This year’s Championship attracted over 18,000 participants.
Co-organisers of the Championship, Education Bureau and Hong Kong Monetary Authority, extend their appreciation to Visa and Hong Kong Economic Journal for their steadfast partnership in driving financial education for the next generation over the past decade.
From left to right: Paulina Leong, General Manager of Visa Hong Kong and Macau, Dr. Choi Yuk-lin, Secretary for Education, Darryl Chan, Deputy Chief Executive, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Pandora Ip, Executive Director & Chief Commercial Officer, HKEJ
The Financial Literacy Championship received tremendous support and participation from industry partners. This collaborative effort helped nurture next-gen financial talent and paved way for a smarter financial future for all.
14 industry experts and veterans across different disciplines from Hong Kong were invited to join the Young Talent Runway to provide mentorship to the shortlisted school teams and share their insights around business planning and pitching techniques.
The student team from DMHC Siu Ming Catholic Secondary School won the Championship in both the Young Financial Talent Runway Hong Kong Grand Pitch and GBA Invitational Match.
The student team from Jinan University School for Children of Hong Kong and Macao was the first runner-up in the GBA Invitational Match.
The student team from the Guangzhou No.3 Middle School was second runner-up in the GBA Invitational Match.
About the Championship
The Hong Kong Financial Literacy Championship is a collaborative effort of the HKSAR Education Bureau, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Hong Kong Education City, St. James' Settlement, and Hong Kong Economic Journal Education. Supported by prominent corporations, banks and financial institutions, this Championship offers informative sessions that lay the foundation for students' understanding of financial skills and the digital and sustainable economy. The Championship has been awarded the Investor and Financial Education Council’s Investor and Financial Education Gold Award twice in three years.
About Visa
Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating payments transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com.