Commitment to financial education: EOS receives sustainability award

The EOS Group has received the German Award for Sustainability Projects in recognition of the finlit foundation – a non-profit corporation. In the “Non-profit initiative” category, the jury acknowledged the commitment demonstrated by the foundation in helping to prevent excessive personal debt by teaching financial skills.

“It is important to talk about money, finances, and debt, but even more important to improve financial education, which is why we have established the non-profit finlit foundation. The German Award for Sustainability Projects confirms that our commitment is paying off and we are on the right track,” says Marwin Ramcke, CEO of the EOS Group.

The finlit foundation, which was launched on the initiative of EOS employees, has been campaigning for better financial education in everyday life, and opposing excessive personal debt, since 2019. “Our aim is to help people to help themselves as early as possible, which is why we start in elementary school. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are undisputed life skills – and handling money should also count as such,” summarizes Sebastian Richter, Managing Director of finlit.

The finlit foundation has reached out to almost 100,000 children in grades 3 to 6 with its first financial education initiative ManoMeta, the contents of which are consciously addressed at pupils. “We need to be aware of the world in which young people operate, and link money and finances to things that interest them, such as social media or games. “We have tailored the contents of our initiative to strongly reflect the everyday lives of children,” says Richter.

The teaching materials, which can be ordered or downloaded by interested teachers free of charge (www.manomoneta.de), impart financial knowledge on the basis of six everyday topics – Media, Consumption, Work, Household, Global Finance, and Living, and are essentially geared toward child participation. Questions such as “How much does a pet cost?” or analyzing the tasks involved in breaking down the monthly budget allow the subject of money to be addressed using modern teaching methods. In addition to analog elements, the program also includes a digital learning platform.

The finlit foundation is already starting to roll out ManoMoneta on an international scale; following the launch of the initiative in the Czech Republic last year, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain are now set to follow suit this year.

The German Award for Sustainability Projects 2023 was presented on June 6 in Berlin by the German Institute for Service Quality, the ntv news channel, and the DUP UNTERNEHMER magazine. The patron of the award is former Federal Minister, Brigitte Zypries. The aim of the award is to make sustainable commitment visible across various industries and levels, and, in doing so, to inspire other companies and institutions to launch their own sustainable projects.

The finlit foundation GmbH is part of the EOS Group and was established in November 2019 on the initiative of employees. The aim of the non-profit corporation is to contribute toward financial education and thereby prevent excessive debt by engaging in social responsibility. The finlit foundation is largely financed by the EOS Group. For more information on the finlit foundation, please go to: www.finlit.foundation

The EOS Group is a leading technology-driven investor in receivables portfolios and an expert in the processing of outstanding receivables. With over 50 years of experience and offices in more than 20 countries, EOS offers smart services for receivables management worldwide. Its key target sectors are banking, real estate, telecommunications, utilities, and e-commerce. EOS employs more than 6,000 people and is part of Otto Group. For more information on the EOS Group, please go to: https://eos-solutions.com/