Rehaan Chowdhary Works to Make Financial Education More Accessible to Women in India

~Rehaan Chowdhary, 17, founded The Prosperity Project to promote women’s financial literacy in India, reaching 420 learners across West Bengal and Maharashtra through practical financial education workshops.
Mumbai, Maharashtra, Oct 21 (VNI): Rehaan Chowdhary, a 17-year-old student at Nord Anglia International School Dubai, is working to make financial education more accessible to women in India through The Prosperity Project, an initiative he founded in 2025. The project has reached 420 direct learners across West Bengal and Maharashtra through workshops focused on budgeting, savings, borrowing, investments and recognising financial fraud.
The idea emerged from conversations with Shampa, who has looked after Rehaan since birth. Learning about financial fraud that had affected her family inspired him to explore how greater financial awareness could help people protect their savings and make informed financial decisions.
What began as a personal interest in finance developed into a practical financial literacy initiative. Rehaan created Knowing Your Money, a ten-module curriculum and textbook designed to explain financial concepts through familiar situations and accessible examples.
“I wanted to make financial education practical and relevant to the decisions people face in their everyday lives. It is not just about knowing how money works, but about being able to ask the right questions, understand the risks involved and make informed decisions about your own money,” said Rehaan Chowdhary, Founder of The Prosperity Project.
The curriculum covers budgeting, wages, savings, borrowing, investments, digital payments, financial fraud and emergency planning. Through practical examples, the workshops help participants understand household expenses, compare loan repayment terms, assess financial offers, protect banking information and recognise risks associated with different financial products.
The Prosperity Project began conducting workshops in Baruipur, West Bengal, in collaboration with Bandhan-Konnagar and with support from Bandhan Bank. The initiative subsequently expanded to Asansol through Bengal Shristi Infrastructure Development Limited and FEED. It also reached women in the workplace through a programme at Indo Count in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, where 200 women participated in financial literacy workshops.
According to figures provided by The Prosperity Project, the initiative has reached 420 direct learners through these collaborations. The total includes 40 learners through Bandhan-Konnagar, 70 through Bengal Shristi Infrastructure Development Limited, 110 through FEED and 200 through Indo Count.
A key component of the initiative is its Community Resource Person (CRP) model, which aims to extend financial literacy education beyond individual workshops. Rehaan has trained 40 Community Resource Persons through the Bandhan and Bengal Shristi collaborations, equipping them to share financial education materials with others. These CRPs are included in the total of 420 direct learners, while people reached through their subsequent teaching are not included in the figure.
The project has also developed teaching videos, multilingual resources and a website to help participants and facilitators revisit the curriculum and continue learning beyond the workshops.
To make financial education accessible to diverse communities, the sessions are adapted to participants’ language requirements and local circumstances. Workshops are conducted in Hindi and English, with local teams providing additional language support where necessary. At Indo Count, local support helped facilitate Marathi translation.
The initiative also uses before-and-after assessments to evaluate participants’ understanding of financial concepts and identify areas that may require further explanation. Rehaan has developed a supporting measurement system to match participant responses, score assessments and organise data. Follow-up tools are intended to assess knowledge retention and whether participants report applying what they have learned in their daily lives.
An impact report is currently being finalised. The project has stated that the report and detailed findings on programme outcomes will be shared separately and published on its website.
Looking ahead, The Prosperity Project plans to expand its work through additional community organisations and employers, focusing on locally relevant teaching materials, facilitator training and follow-up learning. Its long-term objective is to enable organisations working with women to adopt the resources and support local facilitators in continuing financial education within their communities and workplaces.
The initiative highlights an important aspect of financial inclusion: access to financial services alone may not be sufficient without the knowledge needed to use them effectively. Understanding financial products, evaluating risks, recognising fraud and making informed decisions are essential skills for managing money.
Through its community-based workshops and practical learning resources, The Prosperity Project aims to equip women with financial knowledge that can help them better understand their options, protect their savings and manage their money with greater confidence. VNI NEWS, Rehaan Chowdhary, The Prosperity Project, Women’s Financial Literacy, Financial Education in India, Financial Inclusion, Financial Awareness, Knowing Your Money, Digital Financial Literacy, Bandhan-Konnagar, Bengal Shristi Infrastructure Development Limited, FEED, Indo Count, Women Empowerment, Mumbai News,