Blending Entrepreneurship and Literacy to Build Financial Capability: MEDA's “100 Hours to Success” Approach

"In Morocco, young people constitute 30% of Morocco’s population [includes ages 15 - 29 according to World Bank statistics] and one tenth of the region's total youth population. This youth segment serves as a platform for opportunity and has proven through the Arab Spring that they are ripe for growth and are an important source of entrepreneurship, development and innovation."

From Mennonite Economic Development Associates (MEDA), this blog describes their YouthInvest project, an approach to building financial capabilities for youth through “100 Hours to Success,” a blended approach to training youth on business skills (for example: developing a business plan and conducting competitive analysis), life skills (for example: practical customer service techniques and conflict management), and financial education (savings, budgeting, financial negotiations, available financial services, and debt management).

In Morocco, MEDA has supported financial service providers (FSPs) to supply appropriate services for youth while also building financial capabilities through focused trainings that cultivate skills and provide youth with the knowledge of utilising these services appropriately. Programmes "like '100 hours to Success' have provided the foundation for youth to make informed financial decisions and learn practical skills. Our annual surveys have uncovered compelling evidence that this combination of services contributes to a wide range of positive changes for young people, including increased assets, improved self-confidence and a more entrepreneurial spirit. Moving forward programs must focus on a blended approach to training not just financial education but offering a suite of trainings to aid in long-term responsible utilization of banking services, business skills and adoption of financial knowledge."

The Center for Financial Services Innovation lists the following criteria of financial capability:

• "Being able to cover monthly expenses with income long-term
• Tracking spending long-term
• Planning ahead and saving for the future
• Selecting and managing financial products and services
• Gaining and exercising financial knowledge"

These criteria focus on long-term changes in behaviour, so MEDA is evaluating their trainees from a 2012 baseline study through a 2014 endpoint study. MEDA conducted a Loan Study (launched in 2011 to identify gaps in services available to youth clients) which found that, "coupling mandatory financial education training with the provision of a loan is appealing to both youth and MFIs [managing financial institutions] as it helps youth cultivate the skills needed to manage their loans and grow their businesses."