About a+b=3

About a+b=3 (a and b make 3)

In 2005 Sophie Paine founded a+b=3 in Hong Kong. Our first workshop “Good Habits with Money” targeted domestic workers from Indonesia and the Philippines who migrate to make money but then face financial challenges in Hong Kong. To migrate they borrow money to pay for the agent’s fee, visa and plane ticket; they remit a big part of their salary to their family and loneliness and easy credit often push them to overspending and more debt. The workshop included games on how to budget and control spending. Soon, we added workshops on how to set up a business back home to prevent migrant workers whose businesses had failed coming back to Hong Kong a second or third time to pay off their debts. Over time our workshops focused more on behaviours and not only on the technical tools. We grew as migrant workers’ employers learned about our programmes and we added after-school money management programmes for children and teens.
In 2007, Enfants du Mekong asked us to run a workshop in Cambodia for their silk weavers who struggle to manage their income. We went on to train their staff, the youth they sponsor, and to work with them in the Philippines as well.
2007 was a key date for another reason too: Enrich our “spin-off” sister charity was created and took over our programmes for migrant workers in Hong Kong, while a+b=3 focused on creating financial education programmes and training trainers, especially through NGOs.

We focus on people and practical solutions to problems.
Not wealth not knowledge but impact on people’s lives

Money is social: when we spend, save, invest or run a business, it impacts others; for us, a financial literate person is someone who does not harm others when managing money.
Accountability, mindfulness

We are building a network of like-minded organisations. Dialogue, pooling respective expertise

Daughter of teachers and grand-daughter of an entrepreneur, Sophie’s vision is a world where financial hardships do not prevent children and adults from getting education and where money is a tool to grow our most precious asset: ourselves. Sophie is a Chartered Accountant (DECF), and has a Master degree in business studies (Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris), a post graduate in finance and banking (Paris-Dauphine) and a diploma in Islamic Finance (CIFE, ETHICA). She worked in financial management and accounting in international corporations and NGO. In 2005, Sophie created a+b=3 to share her enthusiasm about education, and financial education in particular, and empower low income people to improve their lives. In 2007, Sophie co-founded Enrich a Hong Kong based registered charity empowering migrant women. Since 2005, Sophie has facilitated training workshops in various places in Asia, Africa and the USA. Sophie has published three children’s books and she loves adding colour to a+b=3’s courses to engage all participants even those who hate numbers! To contact Sophie.

a+b=3’s key contributors:

a+b=3’s has been shaped by many contributors who facilitated, improved and localised our programmes and opened doors: our gratitude to Minal Jain, Cary Clark, Myriam Bartu, Lenlen Mesina, Tim Carey, Shela Yuen, Florence Hui, Ela Goyal, Melody Yu, Becky Wong, Viveka Mansukhani, Dhwani Patel, Basmah Lok, Soraya Raccah, Jean Michel Ngoyi, Chhunny Noem, Sokchampawatd Khouth, Sophiep Chat, Saorn Ou, Toch Sokunthea, Marine Meas, Chanry Sok, Chanrath Sor, Martin Maindiaux, Gonzague de Borde, Armelle Lahalle, Do Bich Phuong, Maneth Minh, Vivodin Chhay, Pheak Ros, Sun Tongquan, Catalina Magno,  Samwel Magina, Marc-Andre Zach, Buakhai Phimmavong, Somchay Soulitam, Beazhan Hussaini and many others.