Welcome to the SEEP Network’s Innovations in Youth Financial Services blog. Here, we seek to discuss an important but little-known global issue: 85 percent of the world’s fast-growing youth population lives in developing countries, where they are at high risk of either entering or sliding further into poverty. When young people are given access to appropriate financial services and education, the chances that they can look forward to a future of employment, entrepreneurship, and sound financial behavior, dramatically improve.
Providing financial services and guidance to the world’s most underserved youth is a challenging task, and part of an emerging field where there is still much to learn and to do. SEEP’s Innovations in Youth Financial Services Practitioner Learning Program (PLP) brought together 4 organizations that are currently serving youth in their community with youth-inclusive financial products and services
SEEP partnered with these four financial institutions to assist them in scaling up their youth financial services. As part of this program, four online learning events were launched. Through these events, the partners discussed and analyzed lessons learned and challenges they experienced, particularly in four main areas: products, incentives, partnerships, and environments.
The discussions from the online learning events are shared on the following pages, with the intent of sharing with the microfinance industry, at large. Our online learning events revealed new recommendations, and old challenges, that the industry use towards the challenge of bridge existing gaps in the youth sector. The knowledge-sharing efforts among the four participants, together with Freedom from Hunger, and now with you through this blog, is an important step toward extending financial well-being to youth around the world.
