Youth Microfinance & Livelihood Programs

Microfinance has evolved into a very powerful tool to lift people out of poverty by providing them with access to savings, credit and other financial services.

Microfinance, by stimulating self-employment, replaces welfare-oriented programs and provides young people with valuable entrepreneurial skills that  provide them with livelihoods and improve their life prospects considerably.

The livelihood approach entails[1]:

• Giving youth salaried jobs and other opportunities to earn income.
• Providing financial services and related on the job training.
• Developing institutions, alliances and networks for youth to advance their economic interests.
• Promoting policy and social changes that improve young people’s livelihood prospects.

Youth livelihood initiatives and microfinance programs have been successfully used to:

• Combat child labor.
• Support the fight against HIV/AIDS.
• Support reproductive health interventions (e.g. female garment workers in Bangladesh marry later and delay childbirth after marriage).
• Decrease gang membership and unsocial behavior.

Training aspects, such as risk management, planning and marketing are professional skills that might have important spillover effects into young people’s private and public life, resulting in more responsible behavior towards their families and local communities.