Living hand to mouth on a domestic helper's wage with three sons to put through college, the concept of "making her money work" for Mangie Valverde was not on her mind. It was never the other way around, especially after being trapped in a vicious cycle of debt, a course she experienced following her arrival in Hong Kong 15 years ago.
"When I came to Hong Kong, I had a lot of pressure with money," the 51-year-old said. "I borrowed a lot of money; I owed a lot of money." According to South China Morning Post, she also believed to herself that she could not stay in the city forever because her family was back in the Philippines.
This forced herself to save and learn the ropes of investing and financial management in Hong Kong. Last year, she took part in a year-long financial literacy course by Enrich, a charity focused on empowering migrant workers, and multinational accounting firm KPMG, to expand her knowledge.
And now, she believes that in two years, she will have saved enough to invest in a property project with her sons that will provide her with a positive income stream long into her retirement.
Valverde was reportedly among 79 women who graduated recently from the pilot program that Enrich and KPMG are looking into making permanent.
Launched in October 2017, it provided participants with impartial and balanced information on investing and financial planning to domestic workers. Topics included an understanding of basics such as risk, savings, return and liquidity, compound interest, financial products, and microfinance, Geoexpat reports.
The idea is to teach them how to invest to make "money work for them" rather than the other way around. Hong Kong has about 380,000 foreign domestic workers, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia. Their minimum wage is HK$4,520 a month.
For most of the 17 years Indonesian domestic helper Ros spent in the metro, the concept of personal finance was non-existent.
Money was sent back to family members in Indonesia whenever they asked. She put six of her 10 siblings through school and university. Anything left was blown on shopping for clothes. Nothing was saved or invested.
That changed when she learned about the power of investing, before undertaking the course. She put some money into sovereign bonds and mutual funds. After learning about investments at the Enrich course, she studied and bought shares in an environmental technology company.
"It has changed my mindset about short-term and long-term investment," she said.
