Technology, particularly mobile phones, seems poised to rapidly increase access to financial services in developing countries at a time when youth populations are exploding. Some view this as a natural mutually-reinforcing relationship in which mobile access can drive youth empowerment and vice versa. At the same time, there is still much to learn about the contours and intersection of technology and youth access, usage, and development.
The Global Assets Project at the New America Foundation, a member of the YouthSave Consortium, in partnership with Making Cents International, has released a survey to better understand the role of technology in accelerating youth financial access among low-income youth in developing countries. As evidence slowly emerges on the opportunities and challenges to technology-led youth financial inclusion, the hope is to better understand the perspectives and experiences of the youth financial inclusion field on the emerging role of technology as an accelerator, and of course to share those results with all of you.
The Role of Technology in Youth Financial Inclusion: Pulse-Taking Survey
We hope you will participate in this brief 10-15 minute, confidential survey as an opportunity to find out what your peers think about: - How low-income youth use mobile phones. - Which tools currently offer the greatest opportunity for success, both now and in the future. - Whether youth and adults have differing needs regarding mobile technology. - What the greatest obstacles are to using technology to achieve financial inclusion and capabilities.
As a dedicated stakeholder in youth financial access and economic empowerment, the data and the resulting paper are intended to help inform your work, be that as a policy maker, financial service provider, educator, or practitioner. The collected data will be analyzed for an upcoming YouthSave issue brief on the topic. We also intend to share an exclusive sneak-peek of the survey results with all participants in the late summer. Final results and highlights from the survey and paper will also be shared widely via youthsave.org and www.YouthEconomicOpportinities.org, and discussed at the Global Youth Economic Opportunities Conference in September 2013. Please click here to be directed to the survey.
Thank you in advance from the Global Assets Project and Making Cents International!
