Jennifer Awirigwe, popularly known as Financial Jennifer, is a chartered accountant, a chartered stockbroker, a certified finance instructor, and an investment banker. She is the founder of FinTribe. In this interview by KINGSLEY ALUMONA, she speaks about her journey into financial investments and how Nigerians can leverage investment opportunities in the country.
You are an authorised dealing clerk, a chartered stock broker, a chartered accountant, a certified finance instructor, and an investment banker. How did all this begin?
All of this is around finance and money. I had my BSc in Accounting, one of those people who studied ‘What they gave me’, as my original plan was Economics. But, then, it is all God’s plan, as I fell in love with Accounting. I went ahead to become a chartered accountant.
I was a treasury accountant in a large pharmaceutical company. But when I started to teach and explore personal finance, I knew this was what I wanted.
To learn more and to serve my people better in financial literacy, I enrolled, trained, and became a certified finance instructor by the National Financial Educators Council, USA. With time, I knew it was time to be in the middle of the action. So, I made a career switch to investment banking. It was after that that I proceeded to get certified as a chartered stockbroker and got authorised as a dealing clerk.
All of this with the same goal in mind, to develop myself and be better equipped at spreading the gospel of personal finance and helping my clients smash their money goals.
How would you describe your personal finance three years into the labour market? And how did your finances or financial situation then inspire who you are today?
Some of us are not opportune to start our career with high pay. My first job after national service was a take-home of N47,000. I stayed three years on the job and the pay did get to N80,000. But I had other sources of income and my salary was never a deciding factor for me to stay on a job. I ran a hair business. I was doing social media gigs, writing jobs, and even training. I was making decent money, but at the end of the day, I had nothing to show for it. I was like, where is all my money?
One would think that being a chartered accountant who was doing a brilliant job managing the funds at my workplace, I would apply similar wisdom to my own personal finance. For where? It was not until I told myself that enough was enough. That single decision to become more intentional with my money was the birth of ‘Financial Jennifer’. From hoping to keep myself accountable by sharing what I was doing to better my finances on social media to building this large community of financial women.
You are the founder of FinTribe. Tell us the inspiration behind it and why it caters for only women.
There is nothing I will tell you about managing your finances that you have not heard before. From my experience teaching personal finance, I have realised that what most people need is accountability and the ‘ginger’ to do right with their money. And that is where FinTribe comes in. A community of like-minded women who are each other’s cheerleaders as we go on the financial journey.
My mission is to catalyse a financial revolution that uplifts African women, a continent with 80 per cent financially illiterate women often faced with systemic barriers to financial independence, and knowing all the power and choices financial independence gives to a woman. Of course, it has to be for women. I’m called for women.
So, yes, FinTribe has the vision to empower African women to achieve financial wellness by providing financial literacy and promoting financial inclusion. We are building an army of African women who are intentional about their financial future and are leveraging community to achieve this.
What major services does FinTribe provide and what class of women does it serve?
Our core services are financial literacy training and a platform for joint savings and investing. This is not your regular savings platform. In FinTribe, you must save. How can you slack when you have thousands of women with you, plus the constant ‘ginger’ and reminders? That is what our women love about FinTribe, community-driven savings. And other community activities like group trips, networking hangouts, finance fairs, etc.
We recently launched our academy, Wealth Builders Academy, an online school for women and men who desire to grow and preserve their wealth. We have a robust curriculum to ensure that you are properly guided on your financial journey, including investing for yourself and your kids.
It is in the news that in 2023, FinTribe’s members saved and invested $1 million. Which kinds of investments were these? And what are the returns on these investments looking like in 2024?
Yes, in 2023, our women saved and invested over $1 million, and we are on track to double that number in 2024. ‘I fear who no fear FinTribe women!’ We partnered with UBA Custodian who manages our funds. We invest through Afrinvest, a licensed investment bank. Safety is our watchword. So, all our funds go into low-risk offers like government treasury bills.
In one of your recent Facebook posts, you stated that Nigerians can make free money through the Federal Government’s investments. Could you shed more light on this, and the risks and benefits associated with it?
As an investment banker, I help people execute some of these investments. There are so many investment opportunities that many people don’t know about. With the government, we have offers like FGN savings bond that you can key into with as little as N5,000. There are treasury bills and bonds. They all have different tenors and features. But one thing common with government investment is that the risk level is low. It is not like the government will run away with our money. And as the MPR rate keeps going up, the interest rates are also getting more attractive. We guide people in our Wealth Builders Academy to take advantage of these opportunities.
There are many people, especially youths, who are interested in investments but have little or no money to invest. How would you advise this kind of people?
Prioritise growing your income. Always ask the question, “How can I earn more?” Upskill, change jobs, start a side business, etc. We live in an interesting time where the internet has made it easier to make money. You don’t even have to spend a kobo to learn some skills. YouTube and other learning platforms are at our disposal.
Then, once you can, consider some investments that don’t require much capital. There is an investment for everyone no matter how much you have. With less than N5,000 you can invest in stocks and mutual funds. FinTech platforms have broken the capital barrier. You can save as little as N1,000 on most platforms.
As someone who deals with women’s investments, what do you think are the major challenges hindering women from attaining financial independence and security?
For a lot of women, it is a lack of financial literacy. Many people will do better if they are properly guided. But the subject of making money is not a very popular one amongst women. Some shy away from this so that “they will not say I am materialistic.” Add that to the social conditioning that women should not be very ambitious or have so much money. It is as if building wealth is something reserved for the male gender. Well, these are myths we are steadily dismantling. And I am glad that women of my generation now understand that money knows no gender.
Inflation, economic uncertainties, high cost of living, and general hardship are taking a toll on many Nigerians. In these trying times, how can someone manage their earnings and savings to avoid running into debt and mental health problems?
In this economy, the speed at which money is leaving our pockets and the prices of goods and services skyrocketing is alarming. Sadly, income is not growing at the same rate. A lot of people have been on the same level of income for years and you can imagine the struggle.
The focus now should be on putting more money back into the pocket. Bags the same question: “How can I make more money?” And this is the time to be very intentional with your budget. Keep track of where your money goes, else you will remain in the rat race of never knowing what you did with the money. And when it comes to savings, I know it is hard, but always put this away first. Like we say, pay yourself first. One way or the other, you will survive on what is remaining. And if you struggle to, let that be the motivation to aggressively expand your sources of income.
But, first things first. Savings and investments ‘no dey run’. Take care of yourself first. No pressure.
How do you rewind and manage the stress associated with your work? And if you were to go on a two-week all-expense-paid holiday vacation to a foreign country, which country would that be and why?
Is it stressful? Oh yes. But, thankfully, I really enjoy my line of work. I am intentionally trying to build non-work, relaxing hobbies. Usually, I see a movie. I go to cinemas as often as time permits. There is something very relaxing about sitting through a movie in the cinema. And for movies, I love Romcoms. Some weekends I take off to luxury hotels alone. For vacations, I don’t travel as much as I want. I know it is like that for many women, and that is why we introduced community trips in FinTribe. Last year, we visited three countries together. It is beautiful touring a new city in the company of other like-minded women.
All-expense-paid trip? Unlike most people, I don’t have a bucket list of countries. I move as the opportunity or events arise. But book that trip to Singapore… When are we leaving?
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