A Qualitative Study of the Saving and Banking Experiences of Adolescent Girls and Their Caregivers in Ghana.

Abstract

Financial inclusion is critical to poverty reduction, but significant challenges remain. The impact of family economic empowerment interventions has not been tested among adolescent girls at risk of dropping out of school. Additionally, studies exploring adolescent girls' (and their caregivers') experiences with saving and depositing are limited. Hence, we qualitatively explored the saving and banking experiences of Ghanaian adolescent girls and their caregivers (n = 20 dyads) who participated in a combination intervention that included an economic empowerment component. Thematic analysis was used for data analysis. Results showed that most families did not have bank accounts due to lack of knowledge, limited literacy, and the belief that banks were for "rich" people. Forgetting necessary documents was a barrier and program support was a facilitator to account opening during the intervention. Stable income, matched savings, future planning, and small savings were facilitators whereas income fluctuation was a barrier to saving. Fund availability, filling deposit forms, and long lines were identified as challenges and support from bank personnel, relatives, and the program facilitated the depositing process. Our results identify the facilitators and barriers to saving and using bank services; and have programmatic and policy implications in Ghana.