AFTER finishing college, a majority of women want to start their own business or be self-employed, the problem is, they have no experience taking part in a formal business management or entrepreneurship training course required to understand the basics of business operations.

This was revealed in a survey conducted by LET’S GO (Leading Entrepreneurs Towards Seizing Global Opportunities) Foundation and GE Money Bank in 2006, which led to the creation of Innovative Funance (fun and finance) Board game, an interactive-fun way of learning the basics of finance which can be played by five to 10 students.

“The game is designed to manage, solve and understand financial concepts,” explained Michelle Javellana, project manager of LET’S GO. “Participants need to answer questions related to cash flow and cash management to win the game.”

The game was conceptualized by Maurino Bolante, a professor at Asian Institute of Management. Funance is part of Women Entrepreneurship Program (WEP), a financial education program also under LET’S GO.

 “Funance deviates the traditional way of learning financial basics in classrooms,” said Bolante during a workshop he facilitated in Assumption College at San Lorenzo Village, Makati.

The board game is further comprehended with help of Funance Implementation Workshop made up of five modules. Modules 1 is where student participants learn the definition of different account titles in the balance sheet and its equation; module 2 tackles parts of income statement and its format; module 3 holds a group competition  to test participants’ knowledge and understanding of balance sheet and income statement concepts; module 4 provides a case study “Pasta at Iba Pa.” This phase is for students to explore business operations when starting a restaurant; and module 5 uses a board game that challenges students to make cash flow and cash management decisions in a simulated competitive scene.

“Since we rolled the program in 2006, we received other concepts suggested by students like accounting or taxation. Our aim is to include the program in their curriculum next year,” emphasized Javellana.

Based on the study, students are more interested in topics which expound running a business and recognizing opportunities. To make the project sustainable, the local unit of General Electric Co. will give financial assistance to graduating students.

 The WEP and its collaborators intend to transform job seekers to job creators as solutions to increasing number of unemployed people in the country.

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