Over 21,000 students from 115 high schools in Bucharest and 25 cities participated in the lessons of the financial education project launched by ING Bank Romania and the National Federation of Parents FNaP ProEdu between October 2024 and November 2025, which continues from today, March 16, until April 3, 2026, under a new name – the Financial Education Caravan and with an increased prize fund for the business idea competition.

“The Financial Education Caravan is a project with national impact, built to support the development of the financial skills of the new generation and to provide adolescents with a solid foundation in their preparation for adult life. We are happy to be able to contribute, together with FNaP ProEdu and the educational community, to the formation of more confident and better-informed young people. It is a strategic approach for ING Bank Romania, and I thank our volunteer colleagues for the dedication with which they carry forward this mission.” said Mihaela Bîtu, CEO of ING Bank Romania

The third national edition targets over 10,000 students from 50 high schools in Bucharest and 22 other cities across the country. For three weeks, 72 ING Bank Romania employees will teach, as volunteers, financial education classes in high schools in Arad, Bacău, Brăila, Brașov, Bucharest, Buzău, Cluj Napoca, Constanța, Făgăraș, Focșani, Galați, Iași, Miercurea Ciuc, Otopeni, Ploiești, Reșița, Sebeș, Sfântu Gheorghe, Sibiu, Timișoara, Tulcea, Vaslui and Zalău.

“The Financial Education Caravan is now in its fourth edition, at least for Bucharest, and the third for many cities in the country, which is a proof of commitment and responsibility towards children and their education. From the very beginning, we have supported and will continue to support this initiative that contributes substantially to the completion of extra-curricular education. I congratulate the organizers for their mobilization and involvement”, said Florin Lixandru, ISMB Inspector General.

What does the class consist of and how big are the prizes?

The class within the Financial Education Caravan includes an hour of teaching supported by dozens of ING volunteers (with experience and training as trainers), together with volunteers from the National Federation of Parents ProEdu, as well as a business idea contest, in which the prizes put up for grabs by ING are particularly substantial. The prize fund for students is 13,250 euros – net amounts. For example, the first prize means 1,200 euros net per student.

Competition dedicated to students

The competition within the Financial Education Caravan program is a test of the financial knowledge of ninth and tenth grade students, on the one hand, and on the other hand, an exploration of the imagination and organizational and teamwork capacity of teenagers, in creating a business project.

“I would like to thank the School Inspectorates and high school principals who got involved in this large-scale project, as well as the teachers who help us in class. I would also like to thank ING Bank Romania and the volunteers who contribute to the financial education of teenagers. I am glad that our project has reached its third national edition, and I believe that it has all the data to become a regular presence in the schedules of high school students throughout Romania”, commented Eugen Ilea, president of the National Federation of Parents FNaP ProEdu.

So far, in the first three editions, 45 high school students from all over the country and Bucharest have received, in the competition within the project supported by ING Bank Romania, prizes worth a cumulative net of 29,500 euros.