Uganda Finance Trust Ltd (UFT) is one of the oldest microfinance institutions in the Republic of Uganda, providing financial services to low- and medium-income, economically active Ugandans. UFT is incorporated under the laws of Uganda and licensed and regulated by the Bank of Uganda as a microfinance deposit taking institution. The company is recognised as a key player in Uganda’s formal financial sector. Since starting operations in 1984, UFT has expanded its outreach and now serves over 150,000 depositors and borrowers, who access a variety of savings and loan products via 30 interconnected branches all over the country. Thirty percent of UFT clients are youth below 24 years old.

UFT made the decision to specialise in youth-specific products in pursuit of its institutional vision, “Access to affordable financial services for all,” as well as for business and social reasons. UFT gained appreciation of youth as a viable market segment for savings mobilisation through its experience with an initial youth-oriented product, the Girls’ Choice savings account (summary of programme data provided on page 4). With support from Population Council and MicroSave and sponsorship by the Nike Foundation, UFT designed Girls’ Choice for girls aged 10 to 19 both in and out of school. In 2011, with support from the UNCDF-YouthStart initiative, UFT scaled up Girls’ Choice and expanded its youth programme by adding two new youth products: Teen Classic and Youth Progress. Based on its experiences with these products, UFT shares in this case study lessons learned and recommendations to design, test and scale up youth-oriented products.