An exploration of the relationship between financial inclusion and the wellbeing of youth in South Africa
type: CreativeWork
description: In South Africa, where 55.2 percent of youth are without a job, financial inclusion has been put forward as a way to tackle unemployment and the grinding poverty and inequality that come with it. The salient features of the discourses on financial inclusion tend to focus on increasing the accessibility and usability of financial services and products for those who are un- and/or under-banked, due to its promises of economic empowerment. Whilst there is an acknowledgement that a youth specific focus is needed there is a lack of scholarship on this demographic. Interventions for youth have tended to focus on banking youth early in life as well as increase their financial literacy and savings behaviour. The literature affirms that the objectives of youth specific financial inclusion efforts are meant to assist them in achieving their aspirations, and enable them to participate more fully within society. However, the heterogeneity of youth and the complexity of social and economic realities challenge assumptions that financial literacy and improved savings behaviour could support the multitude of youth in South Africa, especially as their realities manifest at the systemic rather than the individual level. This research study, therefore, set out to explore the relationship that youth have to the formal financial system and their wellbeing. The study employed qualitative research methods such as interviews and focus groups as a means to gain deeper insight into youth financial behaviour as well as their perspectives and experiences of both their financial and overall wellbeing. The study found that it is necessary to expand the narrative of youth financial inclusion beyond an interaction with financial services, products, and interventions. It proposes that an expanded narrative starts with an in-depth understanding of the different layers of youth experiences, as they play out through the personal, relational (social and cultural), and contextual (economic and political…
abstract: In South Africa, where 55.2 percent of youth are without a job, financial inclusion has been put forward as a way to tackle unemployment and the grinding poverty and inequality that come with it. The salient features of the discourses on financial inclusion tend to focus on increasing the accessibility and usability of financial services and products for those who are un- and/or under-banked, due to its promises of economic empowerment. Whilst there is an acknowledgement that a youth specific focus is needed there is a lack of scholarship on this demographic. Interventions for youth have tended to focus on banking youth early in life as well as increase their financial literacy and savings behaviour. The literature affirms that the objectives of youth specific financial inclusion efforts are meant to assist them in achieving their aspirations, and enable them to participate more fully within society. However, the heterogeneity of youth and the complexity of social and economic realities challenge assumptions that financial literacy and improved savings behaviour could support the multitude of youth in South Africa, especially as their realities manifest at the systemic rather than the individual level. This research study, therefore, set out to explore the relationship that youth have to the formal financial system and their wellbeing. The study employed qualitative research methods such as interviews and focus groups as a means to gain deeper insight into youth financial behaviour as well as their perspectives and experiences of both their financial and overall wellbeing. The study found that it is necessary to expand the narrative of youth financial inclusion beyond an interaction with financial services, products, and interventions. It proposes that an expanded narrative starts with an in-depth understanding of the different layers of youth experiences, as they play out through the personal, relational (social and cultural), and contextual (economic and political…
author: Wilson, Shamilla
keywords: Inclusive Innovation
date published: 2021
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:23:36Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Graduate School of Business (GSB)

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/35469