Bank of Zambia launches 2026 Financial Literacy Week and starts developing National Strategy on Financial Education Phase III

The Bank of Zambia published the Governor’s remarks for the launch of the 2026 Financial Literacy Week, setting the theme “Smart Money Talks” and urging a shift from periodic, crisis-driven awareness efforts to continuous financial education supported by the National Strategy on Financial Education (NSFE) framework. The remarks also confirmed that the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, together with the Bank and other financial sector supervisory authorities, has commenced work on the National Strategy on Financial Education Phase III. The Governor noted that despite 13 years of Financial Literacy Week, World Savings Day and other programmes, a significant portion of the population still lacks basic financial knowledge, contributing to vulnerability to scams and over-indebtedness. Feedback from prior Financial Literacy Week radio programmes and the Bank’s “Go Cashless” campaign indicated current outreach is insufficient; an NSFE All Ages Working Group strategy is intended to facilitate year-round financial literacy activities, supported by supervisory authorities and other stakeholders. The remarks linked these efforts to improving awareness of financial products and digital financial services and their associated risks within a financial consumer protection framework, with financial inclusion cited at 69.4 percent. Provincial financial literacy campaigns are scheduled for 17 to 22 March 2026 across all ten provinces. The NSFE Phase III strategy is expected to be completed by end 2026.