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YFS Learnings from 2011 Global Youth Economic Opportunities Conference

View the latest PowerPoint presentations, case studies, and more from the 2011 Global Youth Economic Opportunities Conference.

A Nation-Wide Approach to Integrated Youth Financial Services: Palestinian Case Study
Moderator: (bios)
- Mr. Timothy Nourse, President, Making Cents International (USA); Former Chief of Party, ESAF Program, AED (West Bank);

Presenters:
- Mr. Obed Diener, ESAF Program Manager, FHI 360 (Gaza)
- Ms. Annie Belt, Senior Manager, International Programs, Making Cents International (USA)
- Mr. Ali Faroun, Manager, Consumer Relations Department, Palestinian Monetary Authority (PMA) (Palestine)
- Mr. Alaa Sisalem, Executive Director, Ryada Financial Services (Palestine)


Session Description:
How can youth-inclusive financial services be integrated holistically at a country level? In this session, partners of the USAID-funded ESAF program in the West Bank and Gaza will broach the challenge of mainstreaming youth financial capabilities and services into a national level financial sector development strategy by sharing a "menu" of program options while addressing lessons learned, cost-effectiveness, and time considerations. Interventions include: integrating financial education into public schools; technical assistance to MFIs developing youth-focused products; business grants and training for young entrepreneurs; and individual development accounts and matched savings. In addition, you will explore strategies for working with regulatory authorities on overall financial inclusion to benefit youth and other underserved groups.

Building a Youth-Friendly Policy and Regulatory Freamework: What Does it Take for Policy Makers to 'Get it Right'?

 
Presenters: (bios)
- Dr. Sanjaya Acharya, Senior Economist, New ERA (Nepal) 
- Ms. Tanaya Kilara, Associate Microfinance Analyst, CGAP (USA)
- Ms. Sara Myers, Research Associate, YouthSave, Center for Social Development (USA)
- Mr. Jared Penner, Program Executive, ChildFinance (The Netherlands)
 
Session Description:
Many countries have stringent regulatory constraints and policies around identification, parental guardianship, and mandatory reserves that make it difficult or impossible for financial institutions to provide financial services to low income youth. In this session, CGAP, CSD, ChildFinance, and New ERA will take a comprehensive look at the way that policies impact youth savings and financial inclusion.  Beginning with an exploration of policy environments around the world, join presenters for a comparative analysis of regulatory environments for youth financial service offerings in four countries (Colombia, Ghana, Kenya and Nepal) before deep-diving into a country-specific case study with New ERA, YouthSave’s local research institution in Nepal.

Market Research for Youth-Inclusive Financial Services: Tools and Trends
Presenters: (bios)
- Ms. Corrinne Ngurukie, Africa Regional Technical Advisor, YouthSave (Kenya)
- Ms. Rani Deshpande, Director, YouthSave, Save the Children (USA)
- Ms. Maria Perdomo, Program Manager, YouthStart, UNCDF (USA)
- Mr. Ben Shell, Senior Associate, New Product Development, Women's World Banking (USA)
 
Session Description:
What do market research results tell us about youth-inclusive financial services? In this session, you will explore youth financial services market research trends from 22 financial service providers in 13 countries, as presented by the YouthStart and YouthSave programs. Each will highlight lessons learned and will discuss the different processes and tools used to conduct and evaluate their market research. Through an interactive market research scoring exercise you will apply one such tool to assess the quality of a market research study conducted by Women's World Banking's local partner in Ethiopia, PEACE MFI.
 
Presentation Materials


Designing Integrated Services for Youth: Applying Market Research Findings to Product Adaptations


Presenters: (bios)
- Mr. Mamadou Diallo, Regional Manager, West Africa, Freedom from Hunger (Mali)
- Ms. Sonmani Choudhary, Analyst, MicroSave (India) 
- Mr. Frans Purnama, Country Microfinance Advisor, Plan Indonesia (Indonesia)
- Ms. Rosanna Ramirez, Director, Youth Microfinance (USA)
 
Session Description:
By examining a variety of services and the lessons learned to date, this session will guide you to analyze projects that offer both financial services and financial education intended to increase the capacity of youth to build assets and prepare for the future. Using Plan Indonesia's youth-friendly market research findings and Freedom from Hunger's existing service offerings in Ecuador and Mali, you will work with session participants to determine how certain services could be adapted to your local context. You will draw conclusion on which design elements and delivery mechanisms for integrated services work best to reach your target population. 

Presentation Materials

Financial Capabilities Programs: A Comparative Analysis of Systems and Results


Presenters (bios)
- Ms. Karen Austrian, Associate, Population Council (Kenya)
- Ms. Jennifer Gurbin Harley, Project Leader, Youth-Inclusive Financial Services, MEDA (Canada)
- Mr. Adil Sadoq, Field Project Manager, YouthInvest, MEDA (Morocco)
- Mr. Craig Tower, Research Officer, Microfinance Opportunities (USA)
 
Session Description:
Do financial capabilities programs actually affect young people’s behavior? If so, how? Through a comparative analysis of qualitative and quantitative impact data from three financial capabilities programs around the globe, this results-oriented session will explore assessment tools and methodologies implemented to measure the effect that financial capabilities programs has on youth. Each panelist will share programmatic examples and results of change in youth participants’ savings behavior and financial literacy, as well as other indicators such as self-esteem, decision-making capacity, networking, social mobility, communication with parents, future life goals, and more.

Presentation Materials

Youth-Inclusive Financial Services Linkage (YFS-Link) Program Highlights

 
Presenters (bios)
- Ms. Veronica Torres, Director, Youth Enterprise and Livelihoods, Making Cents International (Canada)
- Ms. Rathi Mani, Program Manager, Youth-Inclusive Financial Services Linkage (YFS-Link) Program, Making Cents International (USA) 
- Ms. Lara Storm, Director, Youth-Inclusive Financial Services Linkage (YFS-Link) Program, Making Cents International (USA)
- Ms. Alexi Taylor-Grosman, Program Coordinator, Youth-Inclusive Financial Services Linkage (YFS-Link) Program, Making Cents International (USA) 
 
Session Description:
Join Making Cents International’s Youth-Inclusive Financial Services Linkage (YFS-Link) team for a breakfast session on the latest news from the YFS sector. Come learn about how you and your colleagues can benefit from the development of three new state-of-the-art curricula developed for the YFS sector including Serious Business: Making a Case for YouthInclusive Financial Services; Staffing for Youth-Inclusive Financial Services; and Savings Products and Services for Young Clients. The YFS-Link team will highlight key challenges and lessons learned from over fifteen capacity building initiatives around the globe and share exciting developments around technical assistance initiatives including the conception of Jordan’s first education loan with Tamweelcom and the development of comprehensive savings and financial education strategies with Freedom from Hunger in Ecuador and Mali.
 
Presentation Materials

Innovations in Youth Financial Services Practitioner Learning Program


Presenters (bios)
- Ms Jennifer Denomy, Director of Youth and Financial Services, Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA) (USA) 
- Ms. Ibania Rivas, Economist, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) (El Salvador)
- Ms. Ashleigh Mullinax, Program Manager, The SEEP Network (USA)

Session Description:
Join representatives from The SEEP Network to learn more about emerging lessons from their Innovations in Youth Financial Services Practitioner Learning Program (PLP) funded by The MasterCard Foundation. Since 2010, SEEP and project partners Catholic Relief Services, Enlace, FINCA-Uganda, Hatton National Bank, and XacBank have been working together to examine best practices and lessons learned in scaling up youth financial services. Through an interactive panel discussion featuring one of SEEP’s PLP partners, learn more about practitioner-tested strategies and innovations for scaling up youth financial services specifically around financial education, marketing, institutionalization, and sustainable business models.

Presentation Materials

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