The West African Senior High School (WASS) has won the 2021 Capital Market Quiz competition organised by Young Investors Network (YIN).
The quiz competition was held between four Senior High Schools in Ghana – the West African Senior High School (WASS), Presbyterian Boys Senior High School (PRESEC Legon), Accra Academy Senior High School (Accra Academy) and Tema Methodist Senior High School (MEDASS).
The winning team, WASS, was awarded GH₵1,100 – which will be used as an investment for the contestant.
The competition was sponsored by Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) and Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), and is meant to promote financial literacy and investment among youth in the country, and also to debunk certain misconceptions about finance and investment.
The president of YIN, Joshua Mensah, speaking to B&FT said there is a need for youths to understand the concepts of managing money in order to avoid dissipating money and funds allocated to young entrepreneurs.
“Government is giving packages to young entrepreneurs, but the main issue is if they do not have information about savings, investment and how money works, they will squander the funds allocated to them,” he said.
He urged institutions and organisation to support this initiative in order to help youths acquire the knowledge needed to comprehend saving and investment.
“So, what we are doing is inculcating knowledge about financial literacy – which is the backbone for economic growth for every country. We believe we are doing something great that will help the nation, so we are calling on other people to come on board to drive this agenda to help Ghana,” he said.
Financial Accounting teacher at WASS, Emma Emefa Boahene, speaking with B&FT at the event thanked YIN for organising an educative quiz competition for the school, and also opening an account for the contestants of various schools who participated in the competition.
She added that this will enable the students to have an exposure and serve as an opportunity for them to thrive in life.
Expressing their joy over their conquest, the contestants for WASS, Afiakpor Courage Jaque and Martey Kipps Dorothy, said they were excited with winning the contest as it had required hard work on their part.
“We constantly practiced and had sleepless nights for the quiz. It was not easy for us, but God being so good we were able to win the competition. We are proud of ourselves for being students of WASS, because nobody ever thought WASS would win this competition.”
About YIN
The Young Investors Network is a financial education development organisation established in 2010. It is an organisation with a firm commitment to educating the youth on financial literacy and business skills in Ghana, and is also an international network of student investors and industry leaders. It has impacted over 100,000 students in financial literacy, savings and investment, Stock market trading.