DOHA: Silatech has led a series of activities designed to inform and educate microfinance institutions and support organisations in the region about designing, developing and marketing microfinance products for the youth market. The events took place from September 28-30 during the annual conference of Sanabel, the microfinance network for Arab countries, in Dubai, UAE.
Estimated at 26 percent, the Arab world has the highest percentage of youth unemployment of any region in the world. The only option for many young adults is to start their own very small, or “micro,” enterprises. Unfortunately, funding is extremely difficult for young entrepreneurs in the Arab world to obtain. To help spur youth enterprise in the region, Silatech provides financial and technical assistance to microfinance institutions (MFIs) to help them develop new “youth-friendly” financial products and services designed for young low-income entrepreneurs.
On September 28, Silatech hosted a full-day workshop on “Youth Financial Services” for 30 representatives of regional microfinance institutions and MFI support organizations.
Silatech Director of Enterprise Development Justin Sykes opened the workshop by stressing the value of the youth market to MFIs: “Increasingly, forward thinking MFIs in the region are viewing youth as a significant and yet largely untapped market segment which offers long-term business benefits to them.”
According to a recent Silatech-sponsored study which analysed 43 microfinance institutions across the region, “the commonly-held view among MFIs that youth have a higher risk of default relative to adults may not be justified.”
At the workshop, Silatech representatives led working sessions on youth product development, market research approaches for youth, and communications strategies MFIs can use to attract new young clients including the effectively use social media. Other sessions in the Silatech workshop focused on building awareness of the potential of the youth cohort for MFI credit officers, tracking social impact for MFIs, and non-financial services for clients. The day closed with representatives from six MFIs sharing their experiences in developing and launching youth financial products with the support of Silatech.
THE PENINSULA
