Fellow's Profile
Fellow's Profile
Inclusive Financial Literacy: Empowering Every Student for a Brighter Future
Investigating how financial literacy can be effectively taught to all young people
2025
Yorkshire and The Humber
I am the Founder of LifeSmart, a financial literacy social enterprise helping young people, especially those from underserved backgrounds, build practical money skills for life.
In the UK, 90% of students leave school without any formal financial education, contributing to widespread issues with debt, insecurity and financial exclusion. I'll explore how Singapore and Vietnam embed financial literacy across schools, governments and fintech to create national impact. The goal is to bring back practical insights to inform UK policy and build more engaging, scalable tools for the next generation.
Before founding LifeSmart, I worked in wealth management at Barclays Private Bank and completed all three levels of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) exams. As a first-generation immigrant who grew up on free school meals, I've seen first-hand how money knowledge can shape life chances. That experience drives my mission to make financial literacy more engaging, inclusive and empowering for all.
Ali Zafar (CF 2025) was a guest on Singapore’s leading financial podcast, The Financial Coconut, where he discussed financial systems in the UK and Singapore, building on insights from his Churchill Fellowship research.
By Ali Zafar, 16 October 2025
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
Ali Zafar (CF 2025) was a guest on Singapore’s leading financial podcast, The Financial Coconut, where he discussed financial systems in the UK and Singapore, building on insights from his Churchill Fellowship research.
By Ali Zafar, 16 October 2025
All Reports are copyright © the author. The moral right of the author has been asserted. The views and opinions expressed by any Fellow are those of the Fellow and not of the Churchill Fellowship or its partners, which have no responsibility or liability for any part of them.
