The Western Union Company, a world leading money transfer company, has announced the launch of "Apna Sapna", a financial literacy programme for migrant workers in the UAE to help them develop the awareness and skills to manage their finances and plan for the future.

"Apna Sapna" (Our Dreams in Hindi), is endorsed by the UAE Labour Ministry and aims to address the challenges of migrant workers who are often unsure about how to achieve their long-term financial goals, said a statement from the company.

This programme from Western Union intends to train 3,000 people over two months through face-to-face training sessions run across small groups. In order to reach out to a wider audience, the programme will take place across a number of labour camps in the UAE, it added.

A pilot programme has already been conducted with over 1,500 workers as part of the first phase of this programme.

The second phase will also include women workers to facilitate financial empowerment for women.

The programme has been created in eight different languages enabling Western Union to deliver this programme to key diaspora across the UAE in their native language, encouraging learning and impact of the programme.

Jean Claude Farah, President for Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Eastern Europe and CIS of Western Union, said: "As a company, we have a long history of deep engagement with migrant workers in the UAE.”

“Through Apna Sapna we are seeking to provide them with the knowledge and skills needed to effectively manage their finances enabling them to plan for and work towards a more secure future,” he added.

The programme being implemented by Western Union has been developed specifically for the workers in the UAE.

It covers key aspects of basic financial planning. These include individual modules focused on mapping expenses and income, planning and budgeting, understanding how savings lead to returns and understanding the hierarchy of savings from an immediate, short-term and long-term savings perspective. – TradeArabia News Service