By BUUMBA CHIMBULU
ZAMBIA needs to build a cashless economy anchored on updated knowledge based fundamentals from the education sector.
For the country to increase the adoption of cashless economy and digitalisation framework, there was need for school children and students to keep abreast with new changes in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) syllabus.
This is according to a write-up on the Financial Literacy Week done by economist Kelvin Chisanga.
Mr Chisanga said as Zambia celebrated Financial Literacy Week, there was need to build cashless economy on updated knowledge based fundamentals for the education sector to carter for schools, colleges and universities.
This year’s Financial Literacy Week is held under the theme “Take care of your health, take care of your money.”
“I strongly believe that if we have to increase adoption of cashless economy and digitalisation framework, the school children and students should be kept abreast with the new changes in their ICT syllabus and this model of adoption can greatly help them to fill up the gaps in passing information faster within the society going forward,” he said.
Mr Chisanga said investment in the education with the students and children right in the mind should be held firmly strong such that the learners must be subjected to learn about new changes taking shape in digital finance.
“This is important because we don’t want our next set of generational to face any form of inertia running through and operating on digital platforms such as digital currency, digital payments systems, or getting to fully understand about the emerging of cashless economy, and adoption of FinTech,” he said.
He explained that it was important to educate children about digital finance so that they can teach their own relatives or others to accept the cashless payment and saving modes as well as taking care of their health much to the pleasure of fully knowing that “healthy is indeed wealthy” especially in the wake of COVID-19.
“This idea may truly widen up the market for digital payments across section and this too may lead to proper stock taking of FinTech sector of which I strongly believe that in our next Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rebasing exercise.
“It should be taken with some keen interests to account for this particular emerging sub-sector, as it is making some remarkable strives today within the Zambian economy,” Mr Chisanga said.
He noted that driving a knowledge-based economy and gravitate it towards adopting cashless economy and fostering a total digital transformation which should also strongly build on trade and commerce within the regional markets.
