Futuremakers Case Study July 2022
Life skills education for girls - a route to economic inclusion.
<big>Futuremakers
project spotlight</big>
<big><big>Life skills education for girls
– a route to economic inclusion</big></big>
<big>What is
Futuremakers?</big>
Young people around the world face significant barriers to economic inclusion, with some 200 million1 out of work or in low-income poverty. Women and girls bear a heavier burden, because of social and cultural influences that limit their economic participation, particularly in low-income and emerging markets.
Futuremakers by Standard Chartered is our global initiative to tackle inequality and promote greater economic inclusion. We pledge to help young people from low-income communities – with a greater focus on women and girls – to learn new skills and improve their chances of gaining sustained employment or starting their own business.
To support this, we’ve made a commitment to raise USD75 million between 2019 and 2023, with an aim to empower the next generation to learn, earn, and grow.
Established in 2019, Futuremakers comprises of community projects within three interconnected pathways: education, employability, and entrepreneurship. We provide support to low-income young people at different points in their early lives, encourage social change in the environments that surround them, and work to address barriers to their economic participation.
Our non-governmental organisation (NGO) partners are at the heart of the implementation of Futuremakers projects.
With their dedication and on-the-ground experience, together we’ve reached more than 849,000 young people between 2019 and mid-2022.
Meet our Futuremakers to see how the initiative is transforming lives.
<big>The background</big>
For many, barriers to economic participation are rooted in childhood. Approximately 1 in 3 girls and young women from the poorest households around the world have never been to school.2 Societal norms in emerging and developing markets can pressure women to marry or have children before they’re 18 – which can limit their ability to learn, earn and grow.
The obstacles to economic inclusion faced by girls and young women vary widely across the markets we operate in, shaped by differences in local cultures. Yet in most cases, they face the same common issues:
To combat these and other persistent barriers, intervention is needed at an early age. By educating and encouraging girls and young women before they reach 18, we can empower them to pursue diverse opportunities, mitigate gender-based violence, and ultimately, achieve sustained economic inclusion.
Uplifting young women and girls
As part of Futuremakers by Standard Chartered, the education pathway seeks to address persistent barriers to economic inclusion facing young women and girls.
Goal is the flagship education programme within Futuremakers. Managed globally by our strategic NGO partner Women Win, local projects use sport, play, and life skills education to help participants learn about health, communication, leadership, rights, and management of their personal finances. Sessions about online security have also been incorporated into the programme, to help educate young women and girls on safe practices as their lives become increasingly digital.
On an individual level, participation helps equip young women and girls with the confidence, knowledge, and skills they need to overcome barriers to inclusion.
Beyond the individual, we seek to create a critical mass of participants who – armed with greater confidence, skills, and knowledge – can lead and influence change at a community level.
Fast facts:
1. Women Win works with local implementing partners to run projects across more than 20 markets.
2. The first Goal project was started in 2006.
3. Since then, we’ve reached more than 821,000 young women and girls.
4. Goal sessions are typically delivered by female coaches in schools on a weekly basis. Online curricula are also being used in many locations, increasing the programme’s reach beyond physical limitations.
With more than 821,000 young women and girls reached since Goal began, there are so many stories to tell. Here, we shine the spotlight on two projects: collaborations between Women Win and local implementing partners.
Playing sport can change lives. Yet while sport is increasingly recognised as a tool for empowering young people in developing markets, they are often designed for – and dominated by – men and boys.
Goal was designed with a focus on sport and its ability to uplift young women and girls. In Pakistan, where only 13 per cent of girls are still in school by ninth grade,3 RTP is demonstrating just how influential sport can be in transforming lives.
First launched in 2016, RTP has since expanded its reach via Goal to more communities in Karachi and in Islamabad. More than 22,000 young women and girls from communities in slum areas on the outskirts of these two cities have since graduated from Goal. As well as the core modules – which already involve games and sport as part of delivery – RTP further engages participants with additional sport modules (football, volleyball, basketball, and cricket), and special Goal events and tournaments. So, in addition to critical financial education in the curriculum, participants learn about teamwork and decision making – and grow in confidence.
Fatima from Lyari tried to get into football in the past, but it came at the expense of her schooling. After joining Goal however, she was able to thrive in both areas. Fatima’s teachers watched her build an understanding of the value of time and money and gain decision-making skills via the Goal modules.
On the pitch, she soared in confidence, and was even awarded best midfielder in a local tournament.
Peer-to-peer learning has huge benefits in engaging young people from low-income backgrounds. Not only does it help build confidence and closer bonds between coach and student, it can also empower young coaches to become community leaders.
Many Goal projects rely on peer-to-peer models, and YEF is a noteworthy example. The NGO has been implementing Goal for more than a decade in Nigeria (where 62 per cent of out-of-school children are girls).4 Emboldened by its use of a peer-to-peer model in applying Goal, by 2021 YEF had reached over 150,000 girls across 47 secondary schools.
Building scale via peer-to-peer learning is not the only way YEF has been reaching beyond the individual: for example, the NGO has regular meetings with local government officials. This helps strengthen relationships to ensure future support – and helps shift mindsets around women beyond domestic roles.
Efforts to reach further into communities are set to continue. YEF plans to reach an additional 15,000 girls in 2022 via ‘Goal Air’, a radio programme that started in 2020 to promote Goal values through non-physical media.
Thirteen-year-old Miracle lost the use of her legs at the age of 10. But thanks to Goal, she was able to focus on achieving her dreams, rather than on her disability. She now supports other vulnerable girls in her community through their Goal journeys.
"I derive strength from the Goal trainings that teach young girls to be positive and aim for the best at all times."
Education projects have been traditionally reliant on face-to-face learning and play, so lockdowns enforced because of the COVID-19 outbreak threatened to derail many projects.
Our implementing partners were quick to react, digitising classes and activities to ensure continued engagement.
WOMEN:girls, implementing partner for Goal in Malaysia, was one of the most successful cases of fast adaptation: the NGO reported 80 per cent attendance after it moved online.
While this was effective in ensuring project continuation, WOMEN:girls noticed girls’ increased vulnerability to cybercrime with more time spent online. As a result, the NGO created a new module, Be Digitally Savvy. As well as digital safety, this helps prepare girls for a greater reliance on technology in further education and employment.
Goal participant Raudhah was one of the many participants to benefit from this new module – read her story here.
“After the Goal programme, I understand the importance of gaining knowledge and what will affect me if I do not study.”
Reaching further for young women and girls
Gender equality is not just good for individuals; achieving worldwide gender parity would bring an annual boost of USD12 trillion5 to global GDP.
With this in mind, we want to do more to empower young women and girls – and have expanded our partnership with Women Win beyond Goal:
We’re determined to improve the lives of young people and their communities by unleashing the financial potential of women and micro businesses in our core markets. Together with partners like Women Win, we’re taking steps towards this reality.
