MetLife Foundation has pledged $20 million over the next five years to Sesame Workshop, the two announced today, to create financial educational content for low- and moderate-income families with young children around the world through digital media, broadcast, community outreach local events and seminars.
World Bank research shows that more than 2.5 billion people live on less than $2 a day, most lacking access to basic financial services that could be the key to a more hopeful future.
The two organizations will build a coalition of local partnerships worldwide to help deliver the content. The new initiative is planned to reach up to 10 countries and is expected to launch in 2014 in Brazil, China, India and Mexico, expanding later to Europe and the Middle East.
“We see our partnership with Sesame Workshop as a powerful way to advance our new vision for financial inclusion throughout the world,” said Dennis White, president of the MetLife Foundation, “and we look forward to collaborating over the next five years to help more families prepare for their futures.”
The two collaborated in the past on initiatives involving health and emergency crisis response, among other issues.
H. Melvin Ming, president of Sesame Workshop, said, “With this new commitment, we are expanding our partnership to address the essential issue of financial inclusion by including practical everyday lessons of basic numeracy, self-regulation and other key social skills to provide valuable educational experiences and resources.”