Supporting young people’s financial literacy
In June 2022, the university crowdfunded for Urban Rise Social Enterprise. Founded by current student Abdirahman Ahmed, Urban Rise’s aim is to tackle poverty through education and by addressing material deprivation. It does this by teaching disadvantaged young people aged 14-18 lifelong skills in financial literacy that will prepare them for the economic challenges of adulthood.
Before taking part in crowdfunding, Abdirahman achieved success with Urban Rise at the university’s 2022 Enterprise Challenge, winning the Audience Choice: Favourite Ideas award.
About Abdirahman Ahmed (BA Business Management), founder of Urban Rise Social Enterprise
“The university brings together people from all different cultures, personalities, and experiences in one place.” That is one of Abdirahman’s favourite things about the University of Greenwich.
Abdirahman was born and raised in the borough of Greenwich, so the university and its beautiful campus were something he has always admired and been proud of. he wanted a university close to home and easy access to work, as he knew he would be working throughout his degree.
His primary motivation to start Urban Rise came from a hackathon he went to in his first year. The Hackathon introduced to him to the concept of a social enterprise and how business with a core social impact can be a viable way to have a massive effect.
Abdirahman believes that education is not just about attending school or university, but should be constant in all of our lives, such as life skills and soft skills that will allow individuals to be successful and happy in life. That’s where financial literacy came into the picture. It’s the number one thing that people in his community lacked that would otherwise help them be in a better situation.”
His goal with Urban Rise is to reach as many communities as possible, he planned to achieve this in two main ways:
- The first is creating an online platform that people can access and learn from, which will be free for the end user.
- Secondly, to have a massive network of freelance facilitators who is trained to be experts in delivering financial literacy sessions in their community in London and throughout the country.
Growing Urban Rise with the help of alumni and friends
The success in the Enterprise Challenge helped make Urban Rise a viable business model and secure funding for four financial literacy events. Since then, crowdfunding opened up so many doors – to say that you participated in the Enterprise Challenge and won an award is one thing, but to say that you have crowdfunded through university and raised £845 is completely different.
On the impact of crowdfunding, Abdirahman has said:
“I have been able to get help from many organisations, build new relationships, and reach a wider audience because of the crowdfunding campaign and the support of the Greenwich alumni community.”
The donations allowed him to put on more events and produce new promotional materials, crucial when seeking the support of partners to help Urban Rise grow.
“I have seen how big and helpful the Greenwich community has been. The support has been incredible, so I plan to continue engaging with the Greenwich community. I’m very excited about the future as it has opened doors that I thought were impossible.
Also, I believe in paying it forward, so I can provide value back as an alumnus when the time is ready.”
Where is Urban Rise now: We caught up with Abdirahman in 2023 to see where Urban Rise was now and how he's still tackling poverty through education.
Do you want to support students all year round?
Crowdfunding at Greenwich helps to provide crucial funding for initiatives like Urban Rise, enabling our students to develop valuable entrepreneurial and employability skills through hands-on volunteering opportunities.
If there is no live crowdfunding campaign, donate to the Annual Fund and you can help bridge the gap between education and employment, empowering our students to thrive in their future careers or as entrepreneurs.
If you have any questions regarding your donations, please email the Alumni and Fundraising team at alumni@gre.ac.uk. Find out more.
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