Spending beyond means - then it's time for some 'financial wellness' lessons, says Souqalmal CEO

20200607 savings — Many UAE residents were caught short on their savings after the pandemic took a toll on their income generation. Now is the the time to re-calibrate. Image Credit: Supplied

Dubai: need to come to grips on your income and spending ways, but don’t know where to start?

The online platform Souqalmal has introduced a ‘financial wellness’ programme that hopes to provide employees – and their employers – some of that understanding. The programme went live on Thursday, and features presentations (including videos from The Money Doctor) that employees can access for a year.

“Employers have been calling us to ask for help as with the COVID-19 situations many employees realised that they had not saved properly,” said Ambareen Musa of Souqalmal. “They were living way beyond their means - but as long as the income was coming in, they were OK.

“Employers have therefore realised that there should be a huge education and they reached out for help.”

A B2B model

The new Souqalmal solution is targetted as a B2B solution. "We want to have employers subscribe and provide access to financial education to employees exactly like health education and wellness, professional development, etc.," said Ambareen Musa.

The content is localised and tools like budgeting and mortgage calculators are available alongside. The financial literacy programme has been in the making for four months and includes nine distinct modules.

“Companies provide health programmes to employees - why not financial education?” Musa added. “It is a direct correlation with productivity and level of stress at work.”