‘We must transform people’s lives with financial education’

This weekend MoneyCon takes place, the first economics and personal finance festival in Latin America, with the presence of experts in the field, academics, former Ministers of Finance and ordinary people who wanted to learn to take care of and strengthen their pockets.

Portafolio spoke with Juan Pablo Zuluaga (JPZ) and Carolina Pineda (CP), founders of Mis Propias Finanzas and the minds behind this event, which he organized in alliance with Páramo Labs and the Universidad de los Andes, who pointed out that educating and sharing the knowledge, will always leave a positive balance.

What is the balance of MoneyCon?

JPZ: The balance is super positive, the truth is we are too excited. We had a full house, more than 5,000 people in person and another almost 3,000 virtually, having access to the brightest minds in the world of finance, the world of investments, and productivity. There were more than 60 speakers, 120 conferences, this is a milestone in financial education in Colombia.

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A bid to demystify finances?

CP: Of course, and this also comes from a personal experience, with which we grew up and later we realized that it is really not that difficult. Finances should not be seen as something boring because it should also matter to all of us regardless of how old you are, what you studied, where you lived and where you grew up, we all need to know how to handle and manage money.

That’s why we combined education with entertainment, to show people that it can be cool to learn about these topics and that it’s not difficult. What happens is that since we have not been taught in the traditional educational system, this does not exist, then we have to start from scratch a little and that is why we decided to give it this touch of entertainment.

Is it edutainment?

JPZ: Yes, it is mixing education with entertainment. Just as one goes to music festivals, art festivals, entrepreneurship festivals, with the entire My Own Finances team, we simply began to ask ourselves, good questions come good answers, why not have a festival of finance and financial education?

We dreamed about it for more than three years and well, it was already a reality with a very powerful alliance. Paramo Lab, which is the most important entertainment agency in the country, festival organizers such as Estéreo Picnic, Cordillera, large events, they do more than 130 concerts a year, and the University of Los Andes, we cannot think of a better place to make an educational and entertainment event.

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What audience did they reach?

JPZ: There is everything, when we take stock we find children, students, parents, university professors, very expert people, bank managers, consultants; but also people who have zero knowledge in finance and want to awaken their curiosity about these topics.

Even people who traveled from outside the country just to come to MoneyCon. That leaves us very happy, due to the reception of different profiles and types of people who are interested in financial education.

How did they overcome the hurdle of profitability?

CP: We have such a great objective and purpose, which is the transformation of people’s lives through education. With this event we are not looking for an economic issue, we really wanted to see if there was potential to do something in person, because all our courses have always been virtual and that is why we took the step towards something in person that people like, that they enjoy, that Let’s feel like that connection again.

MoneyCon Bogotá.

Photos: CEET – César Melgarejo.

JPZ:TAnd let me tell you a lie, we are going to come out practically flat in the economic and financial year, here we are not going to have a great return from the point of view of money, but the return in purpose, in happiness, in reaching so many people, in awakening this curiosity about financial education, I believe it is infinite and the only thing that opens are doors and the only thing that leaves us are opportunities for the future.

Will other MoneyCons come?

JPZ: We are still very involved with online education, because it is the way to reach many people. We have about 40,000 students in 15 countries in the world and there is still a lot to do, as Caro said: the pain is immense, the pain is very great and I believe that we still have a long way to go, a long way to go and that is why we continue with that strong commitment to digital.

This was a first exercise, which brought together nearly 5,000 people in person, without a doubt this will be the first MoneyCon of many, we want to continue growing, we want to continue evolving, we want to continue bringing the brightest minds in the financial industry and we see that The companies are very open.

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What has changed since you started?

CP: This started as a hobby, it was research that we were doing to improve our finances, it started to help us and we said let’s share it because if it helps us, it can help someone else.

And at the moment when this begins to grow, we said here is something and that is where I resign, I put myself in charge of this and it ends up becoming a company that now has more than 50 employees, it is already a company that was established 3 years ago and he has a lot ahead of him. Today we have a clear purpose and that is to help people.

MoneyCon Bogotá.

Photos: CEET – César Melgarejo.

Will they stay only in education?

CP: We have found in My Own Finances a key tool to understand the needs of our followers and students. Initially, our activity focused exclusively on education, but many people began to ask for more than just learning; They wanted concrete tools to start investing.

That is why we now work with MPF Invest, a new company that I now lead and is a technology company that, in alliance with monitored entities, allows people to invest through a mobile application. This project seeks to offer practical solutions that respond to the demands that we have identified over time. It is a natural extension of our purpose of empowering people to manage their finances.