Financial Literacy and Poverty Alleviation

Poverty alleviation is the focal point of every economic and social policy; all in a bid to enhance the financial wellbeing of the individual. Financial wellbeing however, does not necessarily imply only an accumulation of financial resources but knowledge acquisition as well to ensure financial sustainability. With technology-drive today, more and more financial instruments are made available to the population without prior education for the appropriation and usage of such financial instruments whose misuse could further subject them to poverty. Financial service clients are made to sign terms and conditions of certain contracts without reading through the text for appropriate consent to the contracts. This paper seeks to examine the implications of financial education to poverty alleviation in Cameroon, taking into consideration the financial literacy level of workers and households in general.

The study that was conducted in Yaounde - Cameroon made use of both qualitative and quantitative research methods with the aid of questionnaires and interviews. Through a purposive sampling technique, a sample of some 100 respondents made up of workers was administered questionnaires, and the views of some 20 retired persons were sampled on their knowledge of the available financial instruments, and how these instruments were used to enhance their financial wellbeing and sustainability at retirement. The data collected was analyzed with the use of SPSS, and the results were presented in the form of descriptive statistics. The findings showed that a significant proportion of workers in Cameroon are not familiar with the available financial instruments, and were greatly engaged in reckless borrowing without measuring the consequences of such actions. Result from the interview revealed that a great majority of workers only think of retirement provisions when they approach retirement age. Based on this study, the need for sustainability in financial literacy to workers in Cameroon with the intention to alleviate poverty remains a top policy recommendation.