When financial education fulfills dreams

It was in financial education that Matheus found the answer to his main question.

Various factors generate dreams. They begin as an idea, which becomes a plan that can only be fulfilled through opportunities, to become concrete reality finally. And it was the large number of people who gave up their dreams because of a lack of financial support that motivated Matheus Machado to understand why this happens so often.

With a degree in Law, his many skills made excel in various fields. His journey to financial education was long, with specializations, MBA and experience in events that showed him that perhaps an answer to his question might be hiding in education.

In 2019, following the invitation of a religious, he discovered The Economy of Francesco, a movement that stimulated in him a closer look at the world and offered him bridges and connections that helped him on this journey.

«As I was already working in management at the time, I decided to delve deeper and deeper into the issues of personal finance and I was enthusiastic about the theme. I created my own method and started to apply it, then seeing that it was productive, I decided to devote myself increasingly to this field,» Matheus affirms.

Today, he runs a radio programme on financial education. He has also a show on TV on the topic and participates almost weekly in programs dealing with the subject, and also with topics such as inflation, interest, daycare, or through lectures and events.

International Financial Education

For Matheus, financial education prepares people for a better management of their own finance, so it should be debated everywhere, with everyone. From this idea the Hub of Financial Education was created in 2020.

Together with some colleagues from the EoF’s Finance and Humanities Village, he presented a draft project that could help people understand and accustom with finance, through training in personal finance and business, as well as content on entrepreneurship.

It was from the creation of the Project EoF School of Financial Education and Entrepreneurship, that a new idea emerged, connecting with the Agriculture and Justice Village. The Agriculture and Justice Village follows up the implementation of a project called «Farms of Francesco» in the Amazon, Nigeria and in a community called El Cany in Cuba. Beside the Farms, Matheus and his colleagues proposed the Hub.

«Based on the requests and needs of each community, we began preparing some material for a course, as well as all the requirement to run an online course in communities that do not yet have a suitable infrastructure. We have gathered quite all the didactic material, and we are now setting potential partnerships for the financial aspect.»

Finance in day-to-day life

Financial education is applied in day-to-day life, at different levels. In the Amazonian and Nigerian communities, Matheus explains that it is possible to find families dedicated to agricultural activities, people who have prices and suppliers, materials, inputs, spaces, transportation and many more.

«Knowing how to better negotiate your price, trying to bargain in order to improve the margin of your business, are essential steps to create a healthier environment and increase the life quality of local citizens,» Matheus says.

In Cuba, there are people who deal with customers, suppliers, deadlines, and everything that involves the management of a business.

«When you create a financially healthy business, it’s easier for you to generate income, jobs, and to fairly distribute capital among people.»

Therefore, The Economy of Francesco is his inspiration: he acts like a diplomat, since he enables the creation of bridges, the promotion of dialogues, the transformation of our reality through collective construction and a concrete financial health.