Testing the Waters: YouthSave pilot results from three markets

YouthSave, a consortium initiative created in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation, was established in 2010 to investigate the potential of youth savings accounts as a tool for youth development and financial inclusion in developing countries. Guided by this vision, the YouthSave Consortium and its bank partners in Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, and Nepal, embarked on a rigorous product development process beginning with market research with over 2,100 youth aged 12-18 and almost 400 adults.

Overall, the research suggested that accounts enabling both safe, affordable accumulation of longer term savings as well as emergency access to funds could be an attractive opportunity for low-income youth. In response, YouthSave’s bank partners designed four different youth savings products that incorporated this and other country-specific findings.