Across the world, financial literacy and career guidance are two of the most under-taught life skills in schools. In Tanzania where 60% of the population is under 25 this gap is especially critical.
At just 11 years old, children are required to select their subjects at lower secondary level, a decision that shapes their entire career trajectory. Yet most make this choice with little to no guidance, no exposure to the world of work, and no understanding of where their strengths and interests could take them.
Equally pressing, the majority of these children enter adulthood without basic financial literacy. They don't know how to budget, save, or distinguish between a need and a want. Financial habits are formed young. If we don't teach children about money in their early years, we are already too late.
Akiba Kwanza was created to address both challenges simultaneously, through play, before Grade 8. Because when you give a child financial knowledge and career awareness early, you don't just change a child. You change the trajectory of a family.
A student has to register with a unique 4 digit pin code and their parent’s phone number. They provide details on their gender, age and region. Once registered, they log in using their username and pin code. They have a career to choose, a salary to manage, a budget to balance, and real-life financial decisions to make, all within a game.
Each student selects a career path from a range of real vocational and academic options which they get to play with for a month. Their chosen career determines their monthly income within the simulation. From there, they decide how to allocate their money on rent, food, savings, transport, and more, learning firsthand the difference between needs and wants.
Twice a month, surprise scenarios are introduced, an unexpected medical bill, a school fee, a community event, forcing students to think on their feet and adjust their budgets in real time. These moments create genuine curiosity and powerful learning.
A leaderboard tracks progress and rewards smart financial decisions, making the experience competitive, fun, and habit-forming. Students earn tokens for good choices, and consistently return to improve their scores.
The platform is fully self-guided and requires zero teacher intervention. It works independently in any classroom with basic internet access, removing barriers to adoption across both well-resourced and under-resourced schools.
Our early results show that students are not just playing — they are learning.
The product is in the pilot testing phase and we have reached about 100 students in different primary schools.
Innovations are still on-going, especially to make this product available in low resource schools - an offline model, an app version - to make this reach maximum number of primary aged school children all over Tanzania
Ask for a demo log in from us!
