Money matters
Is it wise to spend all of my money? How much money should I save? What can I do with the money that I have saved? These questions continue to plague many adults. However, for some 10,000 children, this is not a problem, having mastered the art of effective money management, thanks to PlayMoolah. An interactive online platform, PlayMoolah provides six to twelve year-olds the chance to learn how to earn, spend, give and invest money through creative play.

Opportunities from the financial crisis
Co-founders Audrey Tan and Lee Min Xuan, from NUS Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and NUS Business School respectively, met while interning at Qik, a startup company providing video sharing and video conferencing applications, which was later acquired by Skype. They were on a year-long overseas entrepreneurial internship programme with NUS Overseas Colleges in Silicon Valley, starting in 2008. Their internship experience in the thick of the global financial crisis left a strong impression that many individuals were ignorant about money matters.

Min Xuan recalled, “Everyone was talking about how ill-equipped they were in money matters. We wanted to do our bit to solve the global financial illiteracy problem, starting with children.” In order to bring PlayMoolah to life, Audrey and Min had to juggle business plans, investor meetings and overseas trips with their university assignments and exams. PlayMoolah has since launched several products to encourage children to save in the real-world, not only impressing the entrepreneurial and business communities, but bringing real lifetime value to children.