Introduction & Executive Summary

Systems, questions and a guide to the wider report

Young people have aspirations and want to achieve. The Futuremakers 2022 Insights research, Lifting Youth Participation through Financial Inclusion, revealed that young people are being held back from their ambitions.¹ We found that this was for two key reasons: firstly, financial products and services are not designed with young people in mind, and secondly, financial systems have a number of barriers to entry. Coupled together, these two factors can directly prohibit young people from fully participating in the financial system and benefiting from it. What is more, in the face of these challenges young people assume that they are not eligible for many parts of the formal financial system, and so they self-exclude.The Futuremakers Forum 2022 examined what it would take to put young people into the driving seat—to challenge the systemic changes and co-create the finance products and services that would enable them to achieve. During the two-day online event, 22 young Futuremakers from 20 markets took to the virtual stage and shared their ambitions and aspirations. They examined their experiences in accessing and utilising financial products and services, expressing how a lack of knowledge and understanding of the plethora of financial information and differing products is stalling their achievements and contributions.Alongside these inspiring young people, we also heard from 37 financial system stakeholders, including Bill Winters CBE, Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered Bank and other Bank colleagues; stakeholders from multinational businesses, including Pheodor Mundia Njoroge of Unilever and Lindsey Block of Primark; alongside youth engagement and enterprise experts such as Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon, CEO, Stemettes and Andy Woolnough, Executive Vice President, Global Advocacy of Women's World Banking. Over 1,702 people attended the Forum from 61 different countries, contributing to sessions with their insights, questions, and ideas.

Everyone deserves a chance to reach their full potential, no matter how they start in life. Through education, empowerment, and inclusion, we will take a stand and lift participation.

Claire Dixon, Group Head, Corporate Affairs, Brand and Marketing, Standard Chartered Bank

This Insights Paper draws from the enthusiastic discussions that took place during the Futuremakers Forum 2022. It examines priority areas for action and shines a light on how young people can sit in the driving seat when financial products, services, and systems are created—so that they can fully participate in the economy and unlock their potential.The discussions examined the priority areas of financial system transformation and revealed five core questions that businesses, financial service providers, policymakers, and financial system-level organisations could apply in order to better support young people into the economy. These five topics are covered in the following sections, alongside firsthand insights from young people and other stakeholders who participated in the Forum.Five core questions to better include young people in the financial system:

Inclusivity: How can all young people be included in the design of new financial products and services?

Financial and mental health: How should financial health, mental health, and wellbeing be designed into financial product and service systems for young people?

Financial learning: How can young people learn about financial products and services?

Mentoring: How can financial service providers and young people mentor, coach, and sponsor one another for better outcomes?

Innovating: How can young people participate in the innovation stages of solution design?

Which question is most important to you and would result in the greatest lift in participation - helping young people to achieve their goals?

Inclusivity: How can all young people be included in the design of new financial products and services?
Financial and mental health: How should financial health, mental health, and wellbeing be designed into financial product and service systems for young people?
Financial learning: How can young people learn about financial products and services?
Mentoring: How can financial service providers and young people mentor, coach, and sponsor one another for better outcomes?
Innovating: How can young people participate in the innovation stages of solution design?

One of the key findings from the Futuremakers Forum 2022 and the Futuremakers insights research, which preceded the Forum, is that for young people to fully participate in the economy, financial products and services need to be designed with young people in the driving seat. The final section in this paper shares advice from business and financial experts on starting out, keeping going, and managing finances.As Rhoda Kingori, a young Futuremakers Participant from Kenya and co-founder of Zydii explained: “Young people do not need the dismantling of formal banking—it definitely has its place and plays a role. But they do require innovation, disruption, and diversification. Creation of fresh products, structures, and procedures that can make it inclusive for the youth to access financing.”

Shankland, S., Hyson, K., & Barford, A.. 2022. Lifting youth participation through financial inclusion. Business Fights Poverty and Murray Edwards College. https://www.sc.com/en/sustainability/investing-in-communities/futuremakers-forum/insights-paper/