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    This class 12 student developed a website that teaches young girls money-management, personal finance

    Synopsis

    Gurugram-based Diya Roongta has developed a financial literacy platform for teenage girls.

    Before launching Finsnap, Roongta surveyed over 490 urban middleincome households and found that in 68 per cent of the homes, investment decisions were made by men.Agencies
    Before launching Finsnap, Roongta surveyed over 490 urban middleincome households and found that in 68 per cent of the homes, investment decisions were made by men.
    Personal finance website Finsnap.org is the brainchild of Diya Roongta, a Class 12 student from The Shriram School, Moulsari, Gurugram. Finsnap, which stands for ‘finance-in-a-snap’, is a personal finance education portal for teenage girls, built by a teenage girl.

    Supported by her Mumbai-based friend Vrinda Chandra, they have taken on the ambitious task of introducing the importance of financial management and bringing financial literacy to teenage girls through the portal. They have also created a personal finance curriculum and foundation course that can be taught as an elective subject in schools.

    Need for awareness
    It all started when Roongta realised that personal finance is not formally taught in schools or colleges, and the information that is available online is too technical for young people to relate to.

    Before launching Finsnap, Roongta surveyed over 490 urban middleincome households and found that in 68 per cent of the homes, investment decisions were made by men. Only in 22 per cent of the cases, the decision was a joint one.

    And only 10 per cent homes had women taking the lead. The reason for this was their lack of awareness and understanding of finance and financial products.

    Making it relatable
    “By demystifying the complex world of personal finance, young girls will be more equipped and empowered to take financial decisions as adults,” says Chandra.

    The portal provides an understanding of personal finance in an entertaining and relatable manner so girls can learn the importance of budgeting, saving and investing from a young age. It is also a ready reckoner for teenagers to optimise their online expenditure on items like food, music, movies, etc.

    “The key challenge was to get teens interested in a relatively boring topic and adopt it as an essential life skill – hence we have used techniques like memes, cartoons, book recommendations etc which have helped get traction,” says Roongta.

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