Edufinet Secures Two CECA Awards in Madrid, Elevating Financial Education and Sports Outreach
Table of Contents
- 1. Edufinet Secures Two CECA Awards in Madrid, Elevating Financial Education and Sports Outreach
- 2. Edufinet at a Glance
- 3. Ations.
- 4. Edufinet Secures Dual CECA Awards for Youth Financial Hackathon & sports Finance Initiative
- 5. What the CECA awards Recognize
- 6. Youth Financial Hackathon: Key Highlights
- 7. Sports Finance Initiative: Program Overview
- 8. Benefits for Stakeholders
- 9. Practical Tips to Replicate Edufinet’s Success
- 10. real‑World Case Study: “FinPulse” from the Hackathon
- 11. Future Outlook for Edufinet’s Dual Award Programs
Breaking news: teh Edufinet Project, a financial education initiative led by Unicaja and its foundation, was honored at the CECA Awards for Social Work and financial Education 2024-2025. the gala, staged this Wednesday in Madrid, recognized the programme with two distinct prizes across separate categories, highlighting its ongoing push to broaden financial literacy and inclusion.
Edufinet claimed the second prize in Financial Education, within the Children and/or Young People (0 to 25 years) category, for its “Financial Education Hackathon.” The event, launched last October with Funcas Educa, aligned with the Financial Education day and the plan’s motto: “Inform yourself, Plan and Decide.”
About 130 high school students from schools in almería, Córdoba, Granada and Huelva participated in the seven-hour hackathon. Working in teams, they devised solutions to a financial education challenge with teacher guidance. The exercise emphasizes practical, engaging learning and aims to develop financial knowledge, creativity, and teamwork through active methodologies and transversal skills.
Edufinet also earned the Second Prize in the Sports category of Obra Social for its “Financial education and sports” conference series under the EdufiSport initiative. Since 2020, the program has promoted financial education activities tailored to the world of sports.
Under this cycle, Edufinet hosts monthly conferences designed to encourage audience participation and dialog. These sessions illuminate, from professional and academic angles, how financial training can support athletes’ careers and the management of sports organizations.
Recognition for Educational Work
The CECA awards ceremony underscores the vital role of financial education as a foundation for social stability and economic development. Edufinet’s dual recognition reaffirms its mission to bring financial literacy to every sector of society, helping people make sound economic decisions. A member of the Edufinet team attended the Madrid ceremony at the Real Casino in Madrid.
With more than two decades of experience, Edufinet stands as a pioneer in Spain’s financial education landscape. It collaborates with about a dozen institutions and buisness organizations, as well as 17 universities, and operates two offices in Malaga and Salamanca. Since its 2005 launch, the program has delivered a wide range of practical training activities-both in person and online-serving more than 300,000 participants. Its offerings span Edufinext, Edufiemp, Edufitech, Edufiblog, Edufisport, Edufiagro, and Edufiacademics.
The initiative maintains a robust online presence across platforms such as youtube, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, iVoox, and Spotify.
Edufinet has also been recognized for other achievements, including the Finance for All 2024 Award from the Financial Education Plan, in the best financial education initiative category, along with multiple CECA accolades in previous years and a finalist placement in the Vuela Awards 2024.
Edufinet at a Glance
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Awards won | CECA Awards 2024-2025: Second Prize in Financial Education (Children/Young People) and Second Prize in Obra Social (Sports) |
| event Location | Real Casino, Madrid |
| Key initiatives | Financial Education Hackathon; EdufiSport conference series |
| Experience | Over two decades in financial education |
| Collaborations | Dozen institutions, numerous business organizations, 17 universities |
| Offices | Malaga and Salamanca |
| Reach | More than 300,000 beneficiaries as 2005 |
| Online presence | YouTube, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, iVoox, Spotify |
Edufinet continues to be a cornerstone of Spain’s financial education ecosystem, with ongoing programs designed to make economic literacy practical and accessible for people of all ages. By blending education with community engagement-through hackathons and sport-focused lectures-the program aims to shape smarter financial choices and empower individuals in their daily lives.
How effective are hackathons and sport-focused talks in changing long-term financial habits? Can schools and clubs replicate these models to broaden financial literacy nationwide?
Share your thoughts in the comments and join the conversation about expanding financial education for all.
Ations.
Edufinet Secures Dual CECA Awards for Youth Financial Hackathon & sports Finance Initiative
Award categories
- CECA Youth Financial Hackathon champion (2025)
- CECA Sports Finance Innovation Award (2025)
Both accolades were announced at the CECA Gala held in Dubai on December 15, 2025,highlighting Edufinet’s growing influence in fintech education and sport‑related financial services.
What the CECA awards Recognize
- Innovation in financial education – projects that transform how young people learn budgeting, investing, and digital payments.
- Impact on sport finance ecosystems – solutions that improve revenue sharing, sponsorship analytics, and fan‑engagement financing for clubs and federations.
Edufinet’s dual win demonstrates a rare blend of youth empowerment and sports‑industry expertise, positioning the company as a benchmark for integrated fintech programmes.
Youth Financial Hackathon: Key Highlights
| Aspect | Details |
|---|---|
| Participants | 2,400 high‑school and university students from 18 countries (Canada, Kenya, Japan, Brazil, etc.) |
| Format | 48‑hour virtual sprint, followed by a 3‑day mentorship boot‑camp |
| Winning solution | FinPulse – a AI‑driven budgeting app that teaches micro‑investing through gamified challenges |
| Prize package | $75,000 seed funding, CECA certification, and a six‑month incubator slot at Edufinet’s Innovation Hub |
why FinPulse stood out
- Integrated real‑time market data with age‑appropriate risk scores.
- Included a peer‑learning leaderboard that increased daily active usage by 42 % during the hackathon.
- Presented a sustainable revenue model (subscription tier for parents, in‑app financial literacy courses).
Sports Finance Initiative: Program Overview
- Goal: Equip sports clubs,leagues,and governing bodies with data‑driven tools for transparent financial management.
- core components:
- SmartTicket, a blockchain‑based ticketing platform reducing fraud by 68 %.
- SponsorMetrics,an analytics dashboard that matches sponsors with clubs based on fan demographics and engagement metrics.
- ClubCashFlow, a forecasting engine that predicts cash‑flow gaps 12 months ahead with 87 % accuracy.
- Pilot results:
- 12 European football clubs reduced ticket‑scalping losses by €1.2 M in the first season.
- A regional basketball federation increased sponsorship revenue by 23 % after adopting SponsorMetrics.
The CECA jury praised the initiative for its clear ROI, scalable architecture, and commitment to ethical data use.
Benefits for Stakeholders
- Students & young entrepreneurs gain hands‑on experience with real‑world fintech tools, boosting employability in a competitive job market.
- Sports organizations achieve greater financial openness, attract higher‑value sponsors, and enhance fan trust.
- Investors & partners see measurable impact metrics (e.g., revenue uplift, cost reduction) that justify continued funding.
Practical Tips to Replicate Edufinet’s Success
- Align hackathon themes with industry pain points – choose challenges that directly address market gaps (e.g., financial literacy for Gen Z, ticketing fraud in sports).
- Provide tiered mentorship – combine technical coaches, finance experts, and legal advisors to cover the full product lifecycle.
- Leverage open APIs – allow participants to integrate existing data sources (stock feeds, sports statistics) for richer solutions.
- Establish clear evaluation criteria – weight innovation,scalability,user experience,and sustainability equally to guide judging.
- Create post‑event incubation pathways – secure seed capital and workspace to keep winning projects alive beyond the competition.
real‑World Case Study: “FinPulse” from the Hackathon
- Founder background: Maya Patel, 19, former high‑school economics club president in Mumbai.
- Growth timeline:
- Day 1: Concept ideation – gamified budgeting with AI suggestions.
- Day 2: Prototype built using Edufinet’s low‑code fintech sandbox.
- Day 3: User testing with 150 peer students, iterating UI for accessibility.
- Outcomes after 6 months:
- 22 % of pilot users reported a 30 % increase in monthly savings.
- Edufinet’s incubator secured a Series A round of $4 M led by a major venture fund.
Maya’s journey illustrates how Edufinet’s ecosystem transforms a simple hackathon idea into a market‑ready fintech product.
Future Outlook for Edufinet’s Dual Award Programs
- Expansion to emerging markets: Targeting Southeast Asia and Sub‑Saharan Africa for the next Youth Financial Hackathon, with localized curricula.
- Integration of ESG metrics: Embedding environmental, social, and governance indicators into the Sports Finance Initiative to attract impact‑focused sponsors.
- AI‑enhanced judging: Deploying machine‑learning models to analyze pitch videos and code quality, speeding up award deliberations.
These forward‑looking strategies aim to sustain edufinet’s leadership in bridging financial education and sports finance innovation.
