Business Case Webinar Roundup

Last week, the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) hosted a webinar entitled “Exploring the Business Case for Youth Savings,” which brought together leaders from global savings initiatives to discuss the market conditions, considerations and motivations that banks face when implementing youth savings programs. At the webinar, CGAP unveiled its draft Business Case Framework for Youth Savings, which provides development professionals a tool to better understand the business decisions behind youth savings. CGAP presented the framework in order to solicit continued feedback. The framework organized the various situations that financial service providers might face into four illustrative scenarios that varied by levels of competition, opportunity cost and time horizon.

Overall, the framework was well-received and sparked a vibrant discussion among the participants. Many suggested that the framework be modified to account for variables like regulatory environment, financial capabilities of the youth, and available technology. Several professionals recounted that, in their experience, these factors--especially the regulatory environment--were equally as important as the included variables in determining whether youth savings products would be economically viable. This idea incited further discussion about the distinctions between “youth” and “adult” products, the tailored delivery of youth services and efforts to work around such restrictive regulations.

CGAP will make the framework available to the youth financial services industry to populate with data. Examples from institutions like Sparkassen (Germany), Bank of Kathmandu (Nepal) and Equity Bank (Kenya) will help to increase knowledge about each of the scenarios.

If you did not have the chance to listen in on the webinar, there are many ways to get involved in the discussion. Check out CGAP's ongoing blog series, written in collaboration with Making Cents International, that discusses the business aspects of youth savings. Additionally, this September, Making Cents International will host a conference that gives you an opportunity to participate in the discussion.