Financial Education as a tool for social innovation inside Punta de Rieles Penitentiary

Ana Mercedes Botero, CAF's Director of Social Innovation, Development Bank of Latin America, described the Financial Education and Entrepreneurship Workshop, which trained a group of inmates of the Punta de Rieles penitentiary in Montevideo, as a powerful vehicle for social innovation for savings and investment. 

The workshop, which ended successfully a few days ago, was led by a strategic alliance formed by the Central Bank of Uruguay, through its Economic and Financial Education Program -BCUEduca-, CAF, the Rural Financing Foundation -FUNDEFIR- and the National Rehabilitation Institute No. 6 Punta de Rieles. 

For François Borit, CAF Representative in Uruguay, “this alliance represents a powerful synergy between actors from different sectors, who understand the importance of generating skills in the population deprived of liberty with a view to improving their living conditions and opportunities for labor insertion and inclusion.” 

Washington Ribeiro, Vice-President of the Central Bank of Uruguay (BCU), pointed out that from the beginning there was great expectation, hope and trust in the team that was put together through CAF and the Ministry of the Interior, together with teachers and the Fundefir Foundation: “We hope to have given you tools for the day after, so that you have new hope and new opportunities, so that you trust in yourselves, in your strength, in your abilities, and that you can reintegrate into society”. 

The event was attended by 20 inmates, in virtual mode, who with commitment and discipline connected with the trainers in weekly two-hour sessions for two months. The main objective was to strengthen soft and technical skills, both financial and business, which contribute to facilitate the development of productive activities and generate an organizational climate of greater cooperation and understanding. 

The training process, as Botero explained, was based on the new theories of the so-called “behavioral economics” which, in addition to seeking to improve people's decision-making, promote reflection on their relationship with money, which is essential for a population that needs to build a path for their reintegration into society. 

Equally innovative was the content of the training, which was designed based on the academic and work profile of each of the participating inmates (employees, self-employed, entrepreneurs, among others), so that each of them, adjusted to their reality, can take better advantage of the knowledge transmitted and organize their personal and family finances. 

With the successful completion of this workshop, in the words of the National Rehabilitation Institute No. 6 Punta de Rieles, the replication of the model in other prisons in the country is being explored in the future.