Orange Drops

We launched our saving-based financial literacy program “Orange Drops” in 2013. The target of the 8-week program carried out under the auspices of Istanbul Provincial Directorate of National Education, addressing 3rd and 4th graders at public schools, is to create behavioral change. Scientific researches show that saving awareness should be raised during childhood.  Thus, as ING Bank, we targeted 3rd and 4th-grade schoolchildren to create behavioral change.  

“Orange Drops” is based on a multi-stakeholder model, necessitating the collaboration of the private sector, academia, public authorities and non-governmental organizations. While Koç University contributed in designing the content and measuring model, REC (Regional Environment Center) handled the field coordination and PSI Development, Education and Research Center offered pedagogical consultancy services. 

We designed Orange Drops as a sustained program, rather than keeping it as a one-time study project. In order to achieve this, we focused particularly on class masters. Raising saving awareness among them, we helped the instructors better grasp the behavioral change created in children. 

During this 8-week program that focuses on basic character traits like patience, resolution/perseverance, self-confidence/leadership, which lead to success in many areas along with finance-management, the children are trained to gain perspective in: strengthened saving behavior, future-oriented behavior, limited resources, self-control to resist attractive products, balancing demands and needs, budgeting, acting patiently and ability to take group decisions. Instructed by class masters, without changing their natural learning environment, the training program is later measured for its effects, using statistical analysis methods. 

Initiated in 2012-13 Spring Term, Orange Drops have reached to approximately 23,500 children and 618 teachers from a total of 198 schools across 7 provinces, including the participants of 2014-15 school year.  

Represented on many international platforms including the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) and CYFI (Child and Youth Finance International), Orange Drops has already received 5 awards.