Jeune Prépare Ton Avenir (Preparing Youth for the Future)
- Economic development
- Financial services and markets
- Information & communication technology
- Poverty alleviation
- Girls' development
- Youth development
- Microfinance
Example: Walk us through a specific example(s) of how this solution makes a difference; include its primary activities.
Marketplace: Who else is addressing the problem outlined here? How does the proposed project differ from these approaches?
Founding Story
Bob
Price
FINCA International Inc.
, DC, Washington
, KN, Kinshasa
More than 5 years
a. FINCA’s programs in Ecuador and Mexico were ranked in the Top 100 in 2011 by Microfinance Americas for outreach, transparency and efficiency.
b. FINCA’s programs in Azerbaijan, El Salvador, Guatemala, Jordan, Russia and Tajikistan were honored in 2011 with the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor’s Social Performance Reporting awards for their commitment to transparency and accountability in reporting about their impact on clients.
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Operating for less than a year
Through its youth savings program, Jeune Prépare Ton Avenir, FINCA DR Congo seeks to increase the number of youth in formal banking services by providing affordable savings products on flexible terms which are delivered through alternative branchless banking channels and paired with a financial education intervention. It is important for youth to receive proper training and experience at an early age in order to ensure the rising generation is financially literate and responsible. Early access to financial services will open a wider range of economic opportunities for impoverished Congolese youth.
Physical and other accessibility obstacles that prevent communities from reaching financial services, The lack of affordable financial products tailored to the needs of underserved and excluded communities,.
FINCA’s Jeune Prépare Ton Avenir savings program will target youth from low-income families in the DR Congo. Due to a lack of collateral, poor financial literacy, and prohibitive account terms, youth are largely excluded from the formal financial sector in this country. This project will provide education and savings products which will introduce youth to proper banking practices and allow them to accumulate assets. These youth will then go on to start families and create businesses, becoming active members of the banking sector.
FINCA is conducting a similar pilot in Uganda. This pilot is achieving its initial outreach targets, suggesting the potential for scale-up in other countries in the region. FINCA has more than two decades of experience modifying financial products developed in one country for deployment in the other countries in which it operates. FINCA believes that the methodologies developed in this pilot can be revised to fit the needs of its 21 other subsidiaries across the globe and implemented throughout its network.
Thousands of those reached by FINCA’s Jeune Prépare Ton Avenir program will continue to reap the benefits of utilizing formal financial services, using the security gained by these practices to achieve a better quality of life. Other MFI’s will accommodate FINCA’s methodologies, spreading youth savings throughout the country, region, and world, significantly increasing financial inclusion.
In order to achieve the previously mentioned level of success, an increased level of collaboration and cooperation is necessary. FINCA must generate partnerships with schools and NGOs which have the capacity to administer youth financial education. MFIs must communicate and collaborate in order to establish best practices in youth savings. Most of all, FINCA’s youth savings products must prove to be convenient, safe and effective in order to encourage the trust necessary to see full-scale financial inclusion.
As of the end of June 2012, more than 3,000 youth had access to financial services from FINCA DRC as part of its youth savings initiative. In addition, FINCA enrolled more than 1,700 youth in its financial education courses since April 2012. Session topics included savings, budgeting, finance and financial services along with lessons on reproductive health, relationships, HIV/AIDS, among others. These students are building their financial literacy and comfort with banking practices. They have saved a modest amount of money (on average $50) that they can apply toward school related expenses. Students taking part in the program also have established peer groups that encourage a culture of saving.
FINCA’s Jeune Prépare Ton Avenir initiative expects to reach 18,000 youth with financial education and youth appropriate savings products by the end of 2014. A generation of young Congolese will gain the skills and habits to become a base of bankable and financially empowered adults who can pass their skills, social capital and assets to the next generation. A successful pilot and roll-out will be considered for implementation in other subsidiaries in FINCA’s network, greatly expanding its youth outreach and financial inclusion.
After six months, 8,000 youth will have opened savings accounts and 7,000 will have received financial education training.
Expand program to more youth by adding POS agents and partnering with non-school groups to reach out-of-school youth
Review marketing strategy to identify ways to improve outreach, specifically to females
Increase conversion of trainees to savers by adjusting financial literacy curriculum to be more conducive to opening accounts
After 12 months, 9,400 youth will have opened savings accounts and 12,500 will have received financial education training.
Review pilot and address any weaknesses in outreach or uptake
Scale up pilot by implementing youth savings methodologies in new regions
Incorporate mobile banking to make savings access more convenient and increase product uptake
FINCA’s youth savings initiative in the DR Congo is supported in part by the MasterCard Foundation’s Youth Start program which is facilitated by United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF). FINCA DR Congo is partnering with Humana People to People – Congo, a non-governmental organization with experience facilitating trainings in the DR Congo since 2006, to deliver the financial education portion of the project.
As mentioned previously, FINCA is conducting a similar pilot in Uganda which also targets youth from low-income families, specifically girls. This project has the same goals as the youth savings program in DR Congo.
FINCA International maintains a very decentralized operating structure. Thus its subsidiary in DR Congo acts with a large degree of autonomy, but receives support and direction from FINCA Africa's regional hub and FINCA's headquarters in Washington, D.C. This structure gives FINCA DR Congo the latitude to make the necessary decisions to ensure a successful pilot. The subsidiary best knows the situation on the ground and where to find the resources needed to implement the project. Being accountable for the success or failure of this project motivates the team in charge of its implementation to commit to achieving all goals and objectives.
Throughout its history FINCA has been keen to share its perspectives and expertise. It is committed to industry-wide collaboration, believing cooperation between MFIs is essential to eradicating poverty. FINCA relies on public and private partnerships to create new products and services that eventually become core business practices.