AUS opens NAYRA Financial Confidence Program to all its students

The free, mobile program gives students across AUS practical lessons in English and Arabic on budgeting, saving and making informed financial decisions.

American University of Sharjah (AUS), the first university in the UAE to run NAYRA, has expanded the financial education program to students across all its colleges and schools following the success of its first cohort from the AUS School of Business Administration. The free, mobile-based program is available through November 26 and offers short lessons to help students build practical financial skills.

NAYRA is a financial confidence program developed by EWA Group, built on the OECD/INFE framework for financial literacy, and delivered in partnership with Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) and the UAE Ministry of Economy and Tourism. It is aligned with the UAE National Financial Literacy Strategy 2027–2031, launched by the Central Bank of the UAE. Available in English, Arabic and German, it offers brief lessons and exercises on everyday financial topics, including budgeting, saving, managing expenses and making informed financial decisions. Students can also ask a coach through the app and complete financial confidence check-ins at the beginning and end of the program.

“Financial confidence helps students make informed choices about their money and prepare for the decisions they will face throughout their lives,” said Dr. Matthias Ruth, Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost at AUS. “By opening NAYRA to students across the university, AUS is extending practical learning beyond the classroom and giving more students the opportunity to develop skills they can apply in their daily lives and as they plan for the future.”

He added: “What excites us about expanding NAYRA is what we saw in its first cohort with the School of Business Administration. Among the 120 students who completed both check-ins, the average score on the financial confidence assessment rose from 64 to 80, and 89 percent recorded a higher score at the end of the program. These results encourage us to make NAYRA available across AUS, giving more students the opportunity to build confidence in managing their finances.”

“Financial capability moves when government sets the direction, academia tests what works, and partners carry it to scale. AUS has done what a university does best: it tested NAYRA with the School of Business Administration, measured the results, and is now rolling it out to every student at the university,” said Dame Yulia Stark, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of NAYRA and Founder and President of EWA Group.

NAYRA was co-founded by Dame Yulia Stark, Chief Executive Officer, Anas Ech-Cherfi, Chief Technology Officer, and Lucero Liriano, Chief Operating Officer.

The program is open through Thursday, November 26, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. AUS students who complete all five steps, including registration, the initial financial confidence check-in, all lessons, the final check-in and the feedback form, will receive a certificate and have a chance to win prizes from a total pool of AED 10,000. Prizes will be awarded to the students with the most points overall, in each AUS college and school, and in each week, along with a mystery award.

AUS students can download the NAYRA app for iPhone or Android. For assistance, they can visit the Help Center in the app or email [email protected]. Follow NAYRA on Instagram at @mynayra.app.