DIGITAL LITERACY GAMIFICATION: AN INNOVATIVE REGIONAL FINANCIAL-ECONOMIC SECURITY STARTUP TOOL

Abstract

Russian regions are increasingly faced with two parallel but mutually reinforcing processes: a shrinking budget revenue base and the spread of digital fraud, which irrevocably drains citizens' money from the territory's legitimate economic activity. Using the Belgorod Region as an example, where the 2025 budget deficit reached 23.9 billion rubles, this article raises the question of whether youth entrepreneurship initiatives built on game mechanics can serve as an inexpensive, budget-friendly tool for preventing such losses. The aim of the study is to substantiate the student startup as an innovative element of the institutional system for ensuring the region's financial security, empirically confirmed by the results of an assessment of the economic efficiency of an investment project for the creation and development of gamified products at OOO "Shematoz". To this end, it is advisable to solve a number of problems, namely: analyze regional threats to financial and economic security associated with the digitalization of illegal activities; determine the place of gamified products among tools for preventing illegal activities; conduct a diagnosis of the financial condition of the region and the organization developing the gamification product; to perform a quantitative assessment of the effectiveness of an investment startup project involving the creation of a gamified product and its impact on the socio-economic development of the region. The study was based on an indicative approach, comparative and economic-statistical analysis, the discounted cash flow method, and an expert assessment of alternative startup development scenarios. The analysis revealed that the regional economy is in an unstable state with a significant risk of entering a critical phase. Based on these conditions, a financial model was developed. The startup's gamified product, sold through a B2G channel, generates a positive net present value of 5,421.9 thousand rubles at a discount rate of 35%. The project demonstrated a profitability index of 3.0, an internal rate of return of 52%, and a payback period of 3.5 quarters. According to calculations, the project's implementation will prevent approximately 1,200 residents of the region from falling below the poverty line and increase consolidated budget revenues by 6.01 million rubles in the first full year of operation. The practical value of the results lies in the validation of a replicable model: a gamified educational product, developed within the framework of a student startup and sold to the responsible agency, can partially offset budget cuts in digital literacy programs. Direct empirical measurement of knowledge gains among target audience participants using a "before/after" model requires further study.

Keywords: gamification, investment project, student startup, regional financial security, financial literacy, digital fraud, economic security

Acknowledgements: the study is based on materials of a student startup project supported by a grant from the Foundation for Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises under the "Student Startup" programme within the federal project "University Technological Entrepreneurship Platform".

Funding: the research had no sponsorship (own resources).

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About the Authors

Victor A. Konkov – student; Belgorod State Technological University named after V.G. Shukhov, Belgorod, Russia. E-mail: konkov.victor-8@yandex.ru. ORCID 0009-0005-9598-0068.

Irina V. Somina – Dr. Sci. (Economics), Docent; Head of the Department of Strategic Management, Belgorod State Technological University named after V.G. Shukhov, Belgorod, Russia. E-mail: irasomina@yandex.ru. SPIN RINTS 4185-9430. ORCID 0000-0002-4365-9839. Scopus Author ID 55886993100.

For citation: Konkov V.A., Somina I.V. Digital Literacy Gamification: an Innovative Regional Financial-Economic Security Startup Tool // BENEFICIUM. 2026. Vol. 3(60). Pp. 137-145. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.34680/BENEFICIUM.2026.3(60).137-145