Youthsave Project Connects Youth Financial Inclusion and Poverty Alleviation

WASHINGTON, DC – New America recently convened a panel of financial inclusion experts to explore a range of questions related to the use of youth savings accounts as a poverty alleviation tool in the developing world.

Experts from New America’s Asset Building Program, The MasterCard Foundation, the Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), and InclusionUS discussed the following questions: What is the connection between youth financial inclusion and poverty alleviation? What role, if any, can or will financial institutions play? How can regulatory environments better foster youth financial inclusion?

Central discussion points focused on the idea of making concerted policy or business decisions – with a long-term view of youth economic development – in order to improve youth and general economic outcomes in the developing world for future generations.

The event also featured two recent publications from the YouthSave project, The Business Case for Youth Savings: A Framework and Regulatory Environments for Youth Savings in the Developing World.