The Manitoba Financial Empowerment Network (MFEN) is a cross-sectoral collaborative that seeks to reduce poverty and improve financial well-being by enhancing the collective impact of financial empowerment initiatives in Manitoba. The network serves as a support structure for the development, implementation and expansion of a continuum of financial empowerment initiatives that provide pathways for financially vulnerable community members to move from financial crisis to meeting their basic needs to achieving sustainable livelihoods. These financial empowerment initiatives focus on the following pillars:

1. Financial information education, coaching and counselling

2. Access to income boosting benefits and tax credits

3. Access to safe and affordable financial products and services

4. Opportunities to reduce debt, grow savings and build assets

5. Consumer awareness and protection

The Manitoba Financial Empowerment Network works to increase the scale and the impact of financial empowerment initiatives through:

• Increasing the capacity of community-based organizations and large scale service delivery systems to provide financial empowerment initiatives

• Promoting institutional and policy change to reduce barriers and improve financial well-being

• Building public awareness and understanding of financial empowerment approaches