EFG Hermes Partners with KidZania Cairo

EFG Hermes, an EFG Holding company and the leading investment bank in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has announced a groundbreaking partnership with KidZania in Cairo to introduce the world’s second stock trading experience for children and the first in MENA. This collaboration aims to enhance financial literacy among the younger generation through interactive, engaging, and hands-on learning opportunities. This innovative initiative is designed to impart financial literacy to children aged 8 to 14 through an immersive and interactive stock market simulation.

As part of this collaboration, EFG Hermes has created a custom-designed stock market simulation to engage children. The simulation utilizes a simplified version of the EFG Hermes ONE trading app tailored for young users. With this app, children can trade stocks using KidZania’s own currency, KidZos. Each participant will begin with 15 KidZos, KidZania Cairo’s simulated currency, and have the chance to build their own stock trading portfolios. This exciting experience offers young visitors to KidZania in Cairo a unique opportunity to learn how to invest and make their money work for them through stock trading in a realistic, simulated environment. By engaging in hands-on activities and interactive edutainment, children will gain valuable insights into finance and investing, equipping them with essential financial knowledge from an early age.

The trading activities will occur at the new EFG Hermes branch within KidZania Cairo. This mock stock market experience will feature 45 real companies, with their share prices reflecting the daily traffic and demand generated by children visiting these establishments. This setup allows kids to evaluate investment opportunities based on the performance of these businesses, experiencing regular gains and losses tied to each establishment’s growth. Children can then use the KidZos earned from their investments to purchase gifts from the gift shop or participate in a variety of other experiences offered by KidZania.

May El Gammal, Group Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of EFG Holding, said, “At EFG Holding, we are dedicated to being pioneers in promoting financial literacy and education. By partnering with KidZania in Cairo to launch the world’s second stock trading experience for children and the first in MENA through EFG Hermes, we are taking a meaningful step toward empowering the next generation with essential financial knowledge in an engaging and interactive manner.

“Educating children about money, how to manage it, and making it work for them from a young age is crucial for cultivating a new generation that is informed and empowered. As the leading financial institution in the region, we continually strive to introduce initiatives that are not only innovative but also beneficial for society. This initiative represents our commitment to investing in the future, one young trader at a time,” added El Gammal.

Over the past decade, KidZania Cairo has left a mark on over 2.5 million customers. This simulation-based educational city provides children with the opportunity to experience adult life by working within establishments modeled after real offices, stores, factories, and more. KidZania Cairo aims to help the future generation understand how real-life companies and industries operate, guiding them towards discovering their aspirations.

Ahmed Ibrahim Habib, Chief Executive Officer of KidZania Cairo, also commented on the partnership saying, “We would like to thank EFG Hermes for their commitment to the financial education of the future generations of Egypt. As adults, many of us wish that there were certain things taught at schools that prepared us with the knowledge needed to succeed in life. Financial knowledge is one of them, as it serves as an essential tool for adults to make better living decisions. Through the partnership between EFG Hermes and KidZania Cairo, we are addressing this gap by providing children with early exposure to fundamental financial concepts in a fun and interactive setting. At KidZania, it is imperative to educate Kids and their Parents on the importance of early investment in capital markets. We believe that investing a steady monthly amount into the market from an early age will easily cover future expenses associated with college tuition or marriage requirements. Through this partnership, we hope to help kids and their parents plan for a better future for our precious future generations”.

Mohamed Fathy, Chief Information Officer, EFG Holding, shares, “This project has been incredibly exciting for us as we developed a brand-new tech-based stock market simulator specifically for children. Every step of the way has been enjoyable as we worked to create a platform that resonates with kids, engaging them while ensuring it remains tech-savvy. At EFG Hermes, our tech department is committed to fostering empowerment through tools and platforms that are simple, smart, and convenient, providing financial access to everyone. In a rapidly evolving tech landscape, it’s thrilling to enable children to understand and experience the stock market from such an early age.”