Center for Social Development at Washington University in St. Louis
Abstract
If offered an opportunity to save via formal financial services, will youth in developing countries participate, save, and accumulate assets? This is one of the key questions in YouthSave, a savings initiative implemented in four developing countries, targeting youth aged 12 to 18 years, from predominantly low-income households. This report presents two-year findings from a study that tracks account uptake and saving patterns and performance in youth savings accounts in four countries: Colombia, Ghana, Kenya, and Nepal. This savings demand assessment (SDA) is ambitious in its attempt to include systematic data on as many youth savers as possible. The result is a very large dataset that enables us to report in detail who is saving, and factors associated with saving patterns and performance. The report is divided into four sections: the ten key findings; the project summary; the body, which consists of Chapters 1 through 9 and summarizes information across all four countries; and the appendices, which include country-specific details and summary tables. A summary of findings appears at the end of each chapter
