Our story
A small organisation with a clear purpose
We exist to make sound financial thinking available to people who were not taught it in school — and who are now, in their forties and fifties, ready to pay serious attention.
← Back to HomeHow we started
From a kampong spirit to a structured programme
Kampong Finance was founded in Singapore in 2018 by a group of financial practitioners who had spent their careers in banking, financial planning, and investment management. What they noticed, again and again, was that the people who most needed clear financial thinking — those in their forties managing family finances, approaching retirement, or inheriting money they did not know how to steward — were the ones least served by the financial industry's typical products.
The company takes its name from the old Malay word for village. The kampong carried a particular kind of shared knowledge — neighbours who looked after each other, elders who passed on what they had learned, problems solved collectively rather than in isolation. That is the atmosphere we try to recreate in a classroom context.
We run small cohorts. We prepare written materials. We take questions seriously. We do not sell financial products, and we do not receive referral fees from any financial institution. Our income comes entirely from course fees, which means our only interest is in giving participants something worth their time and money.
Since 2018, we have run more than sixty course cohorts and worked directly with over 700 participants. Most of our new enrolments come through word of mouth — which we regard as the most reliable signal that what we are doing is useful.
What we believe
Our values in plain language
Unconflicted teaching
We do not earn commissions. We do not receive introductory fees. Every instructor teaches the subject on its merits, without any incentive to recommend one product or institution over another.
Conversation over lecture
We cap every cohort because we believe real learning happens through questions — not passive listening. Each session is structured to leave time for participants to raise their own situations.
Singapore first
We write our own curriculum. Nothing is adapted from overseas. CPF, MediShield Life, SGS, SSBs — these are local instruments, and they deserve local explanation from people who use them.
Respect for people's time and pace
People in their forties have full lives. We schedule sessions that fit around work and family, provide recordings, and design coursework that can be revisited at whatever pace suits the learner.
The people behind the courses
Our Teaching Team
Siti Rahimah
Lead Instructor, Household Finance
Formerly a financial planner with fifteen years in the Singapore advisory sector. Siti developed the household finance curriculum with a focus on families managing dual incomes and eldercare costs.
David Tan
Instructor, Fixed Income
Spent twelve years in fixed income sales and research at a Singapore-based investment bank. David teaches bond concepts with a deliberate focus on income-stage investors rather than traders.
Lee Weiwen
Instructor, Retirement Planning
A certified financial planner who has specialised in pre-retirement and retirement income planning since 2009. Weiwen designed the retirement withdrawal course around CPF LIFE election decisions and healthcare cost sequencing.
How we maintain standards
Our approach to quality
Curriculum reviewed annually
Course materials are updated every year to reflect changes in CPF policy, MAS regulations, and local market conditions. We do not run stale content.
Participant confidentiality
Questions raised in sessions are treated with discretion. Personal financial details shared in discussion are not recorded or shared beyond the instructor.
End-of-course feedback
Every participant is invited to complete a written feedback form. We read every response and use the results to refine both content and delivery in subsequent cohorts.
No regulatory advice given
Our courses are education, not advisory services. Instructors are clear about the distinction, and course materials include a consistent reminder of what falls outside the scope of a class.
PDPA-compliant data handling
All participant data is held in accordance with Singapore's Personal Data Protection Act. We do not sell or share participant information with third parties.
Practitioner-led instruction
Every instructor has direct professional experience in the subject they teach. We do not use generalist educators or read from scripts — examples and exercises are drawn from real situations.
Financial literacy for Singapore families, grounded in local knowledge
Singapore's financial landscape is shaped by institutions and instruments that do not appear in imported textbooks — CPF contributions, HDB mortgage structures, MediShield Life premiums, and Singapore Government Securities. For a person in their forties managing a household and beginning to think seriously about the decades ahead, this local knowledge is not optional. It is the foundation everything else rests on.
Kampong Finance was built specifically to address this gap. Our courses treat local instruments and policy as primary subject matter, not as footnotes to a foreign curriculum. Instructors bring direct professional experience in Singapore banking, planning, and investment, which means the worked examples, the case studies, and the Q&A discussions all reflect situations that participants actually face.
Financial education delivered well builds capacity over time. Participants leave with a workbook, a framework, and the confidence to ask better questions — whether they are speaking with a banker, a CPF helpline officer, or their own family. That is the outcome we work towards.
Interested in joining a cohort?
Write to us or call, and we will describe current availability across all three courses. There is no obligation to enrol.
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