Advancing Policy to Integrate Arab Youth into their Economies

Arab youth have among the lowest levels of financial inclusion in the world.

We were engaged by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion to conduct a special report on the landscape of youth financial inclusion in the Arab region as part of the Youth Financial Inclusion Initiative.

The AFI Youth Financial Inclusion Initiative aims to drive policy advancement among AFI members in the region, integrating youth into states’ financial fabric, driving both sustainable economic growth and youth fulfilment. The project aims to enable members to adapt their policy frameworks, identify their limitations and obstacles, and assess member understanding and needs in order to develop specific action plans.

We gathered information and data from AFI member institutions and from the literature review on youth financial inclusion. We analysed how financial regulators are tackling the risks, challenges and opportunities that COVID-19 brought in relation to youth financial inclusion and provided strategic recommendations on effective and innovative financial regulatory policies for the region. We also proposed the key pathways for enhancing youth financial inclusion in Arab region-AFI members through the AFI Policy framework. In addition, we facilitated the development of an action plan by Arab region AFI members.