At the time she heard the story of the student who sold his kidney, Nini was already an experienced financial planner and head of UBS Business University in China. However, she says, tackling financial literacy “was a really important thing for me to do.” She used her finance industry experience and banking connections to start her company.

Very FQ provides financial literacy education to Chinese families through programs for parents and children using a culturally appropriate curriculum. It has gamified many topics, offering ten-minute audio programs and picture books that make learning easier. Educating children—especially young children—is a key part of the strategy; Very FQ offers programs for kids between age three and six. Nini says, “We found if you only provide training for younger adults, they already have pre-established values and an understanding of money.” In the past four years, for example, thousands of college students have used their naked pictures as collateral to borrow from loan sharks—money they used merely for leisure. While it is too late to educate these college students, educating children can not only prevent them from becoming victims of financial crimes as adults, but also enhance family financial literacy.

Very FQ takes advantage of the resources of wealthy families and the banking sector to bring financial education to poorer families who have basic financial literacy needs such as understanding the banking and loan systems. “We have two income streams in our business,” Nini says. “The banks will pay us to provide services. The second stream targets middle-class and affluent families.” Very FQ uses this income to provide financial education and materials to lower income families. For every three families paying full tuition, the company offers services for free to one family in poverty.

In addition to educating families about financial matters, Very FQ aims to remove some of the shame around money. Nini describes how children can feel embarrassed by such things as receiving a smaller amount of “lucky money” than their peers. This Chinese New Year tradition involves parents, grandparents, and friends giving children red envelopes containing cash. “There are stories about younger children who were ashamed that their parents gave them very little money. They go to school and do not want to talk about it.” Educating all children about true wealth and value can help ease the stigma.