High-Saving Youth in Smallholder Households: An Untapped Market

Young people living in smallholder households tend to save more money than their elders and have mobile phones, but they use mobile money at lower rates. Instead of using mobile money, they rely on informal forms of savings, which can be risky and do not leave “financial footprints” that can unlock access to other financial tools. How might financial services providers (FSPs) develop solutions that leverage technology, demonstrate value, and better meet the needs and aspirations of high-saving young people in smallholder families? Could savings be the use case that drives adoption of mobile money among the next generation of smallholder customers?

This Brief uses data from CGAP’s financial diaries and national surveys with smallholder households - two highly complementary research methods - to examine the saving habits, mobile phone ownership, and use of mobile money among young people living in smallholder households. The smallholder diaries detailed the cash flows of 270 families in three markets, while the nationally representative surveys explored the agricultural and financial lives of roughly 18,000 smallholder families in six countries.