Image courtesy of BSP

By Tanaya Kilara, CGAP

Policymakers in various countries are closely watching the youth savings landscape for clues on which direction to take. The Central Bank of Philippines, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) made a bold move by launching the ‘Kiddie Account Program’ this August. This is the first instance of an initiative in a developing country, spearheaded by the Central Bank, allowing young children to open accounts.

Picture of leader's luncheon in Kisumu, Kenya 

By Corrinne Ngurukie, Save the Children

Role models, mentors, coaches, teachers, cheerleaders, and influencers are a few of the ways to describe the role adults play in the development of young people. Findings resulting from a three-month, nation-wide market research that was successfully completed[1] early this year, revealed as much. The over 700 respondents, of whom 80% were youth between 12-18 years, provided important insights that indicated the need for adult involvement in a youth savings product, which is currently being pilot tested.

By Maria Perdomo, YouthStart Programme Manager, UN Capital Development Fund

As part of the United Nations High-Level Meeting on Youth that took place in New York on 21-27 July 2011, the UNCDF-MasterCard Foundation initiative, YouthStart, hosted a side event on youth demand for financial services.

By Payal Pathak, New America Foundation

At last month’s Global Youth Economic Opportunities Conference, hosted by Making Cents International, seven individuals were recognized for their commitment and tremendous contributions to the field. YouthSave’s very own Africa Regional Technical Advisor for Save the Children, Corrinne Ngurukie was chosen among nominations received from the 400 conference participants as a member of this impressive cohort.