Shaping the financial future for the next generation

At the age of seven, Naimah Venezia (BGBDA ’25) was reading highlighted portions of the book “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” that her older brother had given her. While other kids were playing, Venezia was planning to profit from her passions – selling custom-made, repurposed jewellery and baked goods door-to-door. “If I had a sibling that was closer to my age, I might not be the way I am because I'd probably be playing,” noted Venezia, who attributes her foundation in finances to her brother. “He would teach me a lot of things about money, like saving, what assets are, what liabilities are, and how credit cards work.”

As Venezia grew older, she realized that her peers did not have the same understanding of finances that she did. “I realized that not everybody's families teach these things, and most importantly, schools don't teach us about [personal finances]." This insight, paired with her entrepreneurial drive was what Venezia needed to begin building CoinWa – a gamified financial literacy app for teens. “I know it’s a pretty intimidating topic for some people, so I wanted to make an interactive and fun way for kids to learn about finances.”

Fit for a founder

When it came time for Venezia to choose a university, she ultimately chose Waterloo for its entrepreneurial ecosystem and reputation in technology. Venezia saw that the Global Business and Digital Arts (GBDA) program combined business, technology and design into one degree, and thought it was the right mix for her.  “I liked how there were some Computer Science courses as well, since it’s more like a mix of business, with tech and design.”

GBDA prepared Venezia for the multiple disciplines required to be a founder, including building business models, pitching effectively, understanding market needs, applying design thinking to create human-centred experiences, and communicating effectively with technical fluency to developers and investors.

“I feel the program is made perfectly for anyone who wants to start a brand or startup – whether it’s in tech, or fashion or anything”.

During her studies at Waterloo’s satellite campus, the Stratford School of Interaction Design and Business, Venezia participated in activities that further connected her to industry, such as attending uXperience Design Jam, the BLEND Conference, and presenting at local female entrepreneur networking events.

Venezia accessed the Ginny Dybenko Experiential Learning Fund – a Stratford specific initiative that supports students in pursuing real-world learning experiences beyond the classroom, to attend TechWeek in Miami, where she hosted an exclusive founders’ brunch to foster connections among young female entrepreneurs.

The Coinwa Co-op continuum

As Venezia was building CoinWa, she used many of the supports available to her as a student at Waterloo. Instead of taking the conventional co-op pathway, she chose the Enterprise Co-op (E-Co-op) program, which allowed her to build, test and grow her own venture, with full support from Waterloo’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. E-Co-op provided Venezia, access to experienced mentors, guiding everything from product development to pitching. As CoinWa grew, Venezia employed students through Co-op to continue the platform’s development.

As Venezia graduates with her class in June, she has big plans. CoinWa currently employs three engineers and one designer, as Venezia strategizes to have CoinWa be a tool that prepares Grade 10 students for the financial literacy graduation requirement. “I want younger people to grow up with more financial literacy.” And she is not alone.

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Banner graphic by Noah Pratt. Images supplied by CoinWa.