The Youth-Money Gap Is Growing

Nepal’s youth represent over 40% of the population. They are highly active online, engaged in social trends, and often the first in their families to handle digital banking or crypto apps. Yet when it comes to budgeting, investing, or understanding interest rates, most are lost.

According to a 2024 survey by Nepal Rastra Bank, over 70% of college students could not define compound interest. This is not just a knowledge gap — it’s an economic risk.

1. Finance Is Not Taught in Schools

Personal finance is absent from the national curriculum. Students spend years learning trigonometry or history without being taught how to manage a salary, avoid debt traps, or invest in NEPSE.

As a result, most young adults enter the workforce without a clue how to file taxes, track expenses, or build a savings plan.

2. Cultural Silence Around Money

In many Nepali families, money is a private topic. Parents don’t discuss household expenses, income sources, or financial struggles with children. This lack of financial transparency robs youth of practical learning from real life.

3. Peer Pressure and Misguided Spending

From iPhones to cafe culture, spending is often driven by image and social validation. Without budgeting skills, many students fall into debt, misuse credit cards, or rely on remittance-fed allowances.

Financial planning is replaced by short-term pleasure. The result? No savings, no investment habit, and zero financial cushion.

4. No Access to Youth-Friendly Financial Tools

Most banks in Nepal do not offer youth-focused savings products or gamified budgeting apps. NEPSE remains complicated and broker onboarding is unfriendly to students. There's a lack of relatable financial products for learners, part-timers, and young professionals.

5. Social Media Is Not Financial Education

Many youths rely on TikTok or Instagram reels for financial advice — which often promotes hype, trading, or unrealistic side hustles. There’s a lack of verified Nepali platforms that teach finance in their own context — slow, steady, long-term.

How to Fix It: A Roadmap

• Introduce Personal Finance in Schools: Basic money skills should be taught as early as grade 9.
• Launch Youth Banking Products: Digital banks and fintech startups can offer saving+learning hybrid apps.
• Promote NEPSE Literacy Early: Teach students how to open a Demat account, track stocks, and invest small amounts.
• Start Financial Clubs in Colleges: Peer-led groups can discuss budgeting, crypto, NEPSE, and side incomes.
• Build EdTech Platforms for Finance: Interactive, local-language courses on money for ages 14–24.

Conclusion: Financial Literacy Is Not Optional

Nepal’s youth are the future entrepreneurs, professionals, and policymakers — but if they don’t understand money, they will repeat the same financial struggles as generations before.

Now is the time to mainstream financial education and empower young Nepalis with the skills to save, invest, and grow wealth. A financially literate youth is not just good for their future — it’s essential for Nepal’s economic progress.