Piggy Banking wins Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick’s 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Pennsylvania’s First District

Rep. Fitzpatrick has named Christophe Bai, an 11th grader at The Lawrenceville School, as the winner of the 2023 Congressional App Challenge in Pennsylvania’s First District.

When asked what inspired the creation of Piggy Banking, the student said, “Influenced by my older cousin at a young age to begin learning investing, I looked up to him for guidance in my journey navigating through the complicated terms about the stock market. When he left for college, I found myself stuck with a growing passion for investing but no way to learn. Every website and youtube video I searched wasn’t suited for a middle schooler like I was. I found it difficult to begin investing and even at points wanted to give up due to the lack of information online. Evidently, a couple years later I found myself in a position to help younger students looking to get a head start in investing and finance. I knew how difficult it was and how helpful a website suited for younger kids would have been through my learning. I combined the absence of educational investment videos with the idea of creating a website that encompassed all the important aspects of investing at a young age. This is what I have achieved so far. Especially with the disruption that Covid-19 has caused in the markets, kids that are trying to learn investing are having a tough time blocking out all the information on “get rich quick” schemes on a volatile market, instead of focusing on the long term potential that steady investing will bring. Currently, the structure for financial education in teenagers is extremely scarce and is not even talked about until college and I believe by putting my website out there, it will be the first steps in a long succession of efforts towards universal financial literacy for all students.  I’m extremely proud of myself for what I have been able to accomplish and I’m excited that one day my website will help younger students learn such an important skill that is often looked upon in our current education system.”

This year’s Challenge saw an unprecedented level of participation, with 374 Members of the House of Representatives hosting competitions, surpassing the previous record of 340. A remarkable 11,334 students from across the United States competed in this year’s Challenge, marking an impressive increase of nearly 1,000 participants compared to the previous record set in 2019. The enthusiasm and creativity these students display is a testament to the growing interest in technology and signal a bright future for American innovation. The surge of ingenuity continued with a whopping 3,645 original applications flooding in, nearly a thousand more than the previous year’s high. This remarkable growth showcases the exceptional talent and innovation within our nation’s youth.


The Congressional App Challenge is an official initiative of the U.S. House of Representatives, where Members of Congress host contests in their districts for middle school and high school students, encouraging them to learn to code and inspiring them to pursue careers in computer science. This resounding show of bipartisan support emphasizes the critical importance of STEM education in today’s rapidly evolving world. Each participating Member of Congress selects a winning app from their district, and each winning team is invited to showcase their winning app to Congress during our annual #HouseOfCode festival. The program is a public-private partnership made possible through funding from Omidyar Network, AWS, Rise, theCoderSchool, Apple, and others.

The 2024 Congressional App Challenge will launch in May of 2024, and eligible students can pre-register for the competition now.