EMEA – Europe, Middle East, & Africa
Here is what Experian employees are doing in Europe, Middle East, and Africa …
In 2012, employees across Experian’s Turkish office began a program to promote financial awareness and education for young people ages 18-30, which we called the Manage Your Future Now Project. For young people pursuing higher education in universities, financial literacy is a required life skill, especially since many depend on educational loans and credit cards to pay for their education. Bad loan management resulting in a poor credit score can hurt the financial future of these students. We found that most local universities lack the human resources necessary to train students on the topic. We decided that the best way to promote financial literacy was through a peer education model. Using this model, we would train volunteers to help their fellow students calculate their credit risk, manage their budget and understand the long-lasting effects of bad credit. We partnered with the Turkish Credit Bureau, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Happy Thought organization to launch the program. With our partners, we provide a two-day training session for student volunteers in Istanbul. We give our volunteers the resources and tools they need to train others on financial risk, while also training them on how to present the same materials to others. These volunteers then go back to their local communities to train their peers through one-on-one sessions, or – if they generate enough interest at a university – organize a conference where they invite Experian experts to share their knowledge with a group of 100 or more students and faculty. The Manage Your Future Now Project has become a leading contributor in improving the financial skills and knowledge of young people and improving the financial literacy rate throughout Turkey. Since we began the program, we’ve reached more than 8,500 people and offered more than 100 training courses at universities, carried out by our growing number of volunteers. For me, the most rewarding part of this project is helping inspire and equip these students. I recently traveled to a university in Turkey as a speaker, giving a financial literacy conference to about 200 people. After I taught them about their credit scores and ways to secure their financial futures, one of the students came up to me, telling me how passionate he was about financial education and how eager he was to become a peer volunteer with the Manage Your Future Now Project. Our team at Experian was able to help convince his family to let him join the program so he could attend a training session and become a speaker in that city. To date, he has met with and educated more than 100 fellow students, guiding them through the program’s tools. Understanding how finance works has a huge impact on people’s daily lives, because it’s relevant for both their present and future welfare. It’s amazing to see year after year how we are helping change people’s lives in Turkey, by opening new doors for them as they understand how to manage credit.
I’m a Regional Sales Strategy Director for Experian in France. While Experian provides grants for entrepreneurs, we are always looking for ways to support new businesses beyond financial support. I had discovered an avenue for employees to volunteer as coaches to train budding entrepreneurs, so I brought the opportunity to Experian’s attention. Eight colleagues and I ended up bringing together entrepreneurs from the Ainée Business Incubator and a charity supporting young entrepreneurs from low-income areas in Paris for a day-long workshop in our Experian Paris office. The workshop was focused on helping entrepreneurs build elevator pitches, digital marketing plans and data protection strategies. I was running the elevator pitch session when I met an entrepreneur named Jocelyne. She wanted to set up a business importing Jamaican fruit and vegetables to the top restaurants in Paris. During the session, I coached Jocelyne and her peers through the basics of an elevator pitch, giving them opportunities to practice together in pairs before presenting to the group. Jocelyne had never given a pitch before, but she did an amazing job. She decided to pretend she was pitching Alain Ducasse – one of the big three Michelin star chefs in Paris. She talked as though he was in the room, which brought her pitch to life. She made her business sound so tasty, I was hungry myself by the end. Jocelyne had been quiet at the start of the workshop, but after giving that pitch, you could see this fresh sense of confidence in her as a new light came into her eyes. By helping one entrepreneur in Paris nail her business pitch, I got to help inspire a small amount of confidence to help Jocelyne turn her business dream into a reality. It was amazing and touching to see that kind of transformation. Read more #ExperianStories from our colleagues around the world.
I am a Senior Business Analyst in Experian’s office in Bulgaria. When refugee camps in my country first began filling up with Syrian refugees, I went to help as a volunteer. Since Experian had helped with similar initiatives for those in poverty in Bulgaria, I thought it would be a good idea to volunteer so I could inform other Experian employees of ways they could volunteer in the future. And now I can see that happening, as Experian is about to embark on a new volunteer project as a result. When I first stepped into the refugee camp as part of my own volunteer efforts, it was evening and nearly winter. I came with two volunteers, each carrying bags of clothes and food. No one can really prepare you for the conditions you witness in the camp, and they’re difficult to describe, too. Families had staked claims in small spaces by hanging up curtains, and while some families had the luxury of a bed made from a basic mattress, most people slept on the ground. As I made my way through the camp, I met a family of 12, including a small baby. I was overwhelmed by the welcome they gave me as they invited me to stay and talk with them. A few of them spoke some English, but the rest just wanted to communicate to me in whatever way they could. They graciously prepared me a dinner in traditional Syrian style — couscous, with vegetables and sauces. The meal was like a small celebration for them. They were delighted to even have my attention. Before I left, they sang me a traditional Syrian song that brought tears to my eyes. These people were a normal family — just like mine. They may be from a different country, speak a different language and have different cultural traditions, but I felt a strong sense of kinship to them. My experience grew in me a desire to do more for refugees coming to our country and bring more people along to help. I decided to apply for funding for Experian to work alongside the Refugee Project in a joint initiative to make a bigger, long-term impact on these people. This funding would give other Experian employees a chance to volunteer and provide refugees with the supplies they need. Additionally, Experian is in the process of organizing workshops for families who wish to stay in Bulgaria. These workshops will provide financial education to help them open a bank account, learn how our financial system works and give them the financial information they need to rebuild their lives. It means a lot to me to see what a difference we’re making and how we’re changing lives. I love knowing our work is helping people find a place to live, get a job and start their own business, as well as introducing Syrians to our local culture and customs. Read more #ExperianStories from our colleagues around the world. Photo: Tram in Sofia, Bulgaria
Experian, the global information services company, has identified five key factors currently making people and organisations more vulnerable to large-scale cyber fraud. Speaking at the renowned Merchant Risk Council EU Congress on May 19th in Seville, Spain, Experian’s Global Identity and Fraud Director, Hugh Steed, shared his insights with nearly 500 eCommerce fraud and payments professionals. A wealth of stolen data available to fraudsters. Wholesale data theft is one of the fastest growing crimes facing people and organisations today, with hundreds of millions of digital identities compromised every year. Fraudsters are increasingly targeting on-line credentials over previously preferred data, such as credit cards. The exponential growth of malware. After data breaches, malware is the criminal’s key method of obtaining digital identities. From mobile applications to traditional desktop platforms, malware manifests itself in many different forms and its volume is ever increasing. Fraudsters are targeting both end users and enterprises to acquire these valuable credentials for use in sophisticated frauds. The frequent username and password reuse by consumers. Experian’s research revealed that the majority of internet users consistently use a small set of usernames and passwords to secure multiple different accounts; including social media, email and online shopping sites. More specifically, people have on average up to 26 online accounts protected by only five different passwords. This greatly increases the risk that fraudsters can use data stolen from one source to successfully access other accounts held by the same user. An increase of multi-channel interaction between customers and business. People now have access to multiple digital and physical channels, enabling them to interact with businesses, manage accounts and make transactions. However, this diverse channel environment also facilitates the work of cyber criminals as each open channel is an opportunity to commit fraud and securing these channels is a significant challenge for enterprises. The trade-off between security and user experience. As companies consider the necessary steps required to increase online account security, they are conscious that they cannot risk adversely affecting the customer experience. Customers making transactions online today expect a seamless journey and are likely to be put off by onerous visible security procedures. Hugh commented: \"Experian’s research shows that fraud today is often a complex cycle that starts with data theft and proceeds through a set of discrete staging points, ending with a fraudulent transaction. “Rather than being instantaneous, the fraud process can span weeks or even months often with different criminal organisations involved and data changing hands. However, the very nature of this cycle means that there are systems that can be implemented to detect and stop such fraud early and before it causes losses that are significant in scale. To put things into context, for a handful of our largest customers alone, we have helped them detect and prevent fraud worth over $500 million dollars.” Felipe Fernandez-Atela, President of Experian in Spain, said: \"Protecting people and businesses from the threat of fraud is one of our main goals. In fact, companies using our fraud prevention solutions consistently outperform the industry benchmarks in areas such as ‘decline rates’ and ‘fraud rate by order’ – both of which are typically 15 times below the industry average. We have the expertise, both in our products, services and skills of our people to help ensure society is more protected against this type of crime.”
2,500 university students across 16 cities have been trained by Experian\'s experts and young volunteers of the social responsibility project ‘Manage Your Future Now’ project. The project, which was launched by Experian to promote self-improvement among university students, female entrepreneurs, and SMEs, reached the milestone in December and the achievement was celebrated at a recent event at the Experian office in Turkey. Coming from 10 cities across the country, 42 participants gathered to share their experiences. Feedback was positive with everyone agreeing that the project has been beneficial in increasing awareness of social responsibility. The participants were presented with a certificate for their commitment and contribution to the project. ‘Manage Your Future Now’ is a partnership between Experian, the United Nations Development Program and the Habitat Association/Center and Credit Bureau. The initiative includes providing training on financial risks, responsible borrowing, financial management and the efficient management of relationships with banks and the financial sector. Didem Köprücü, Human Resources Manager for Turkey and the Middle East at Experian, said: “We are proud that more people are benefiting under the ‘Manage Your Future Now’ project. Our training is improving every year and I would like to thank all the volunteers and young trainers for their valuable contribution. “The third stage of our project in 2016 will cover financial risk management, as well as financial opportunities for entrepreneur candidates. For this stage of the project we plan to reach 3,000 students and entrepreneur candidates across 26 cities. “However, we intend to continue our project, reaching more people every year.” The project aims to reach 3,000 students by the end of March 2016.