Banking on Youth

Please note that this is a closed, archived program.

Sept 2000 - August 2001

With funding from the Citicorp Foundation, Pact, Citibank and a local Vietnamese partner jointly implemented the "Banking on Youth", Young Entrepreneurs and Small Business Development in Vietnam" project, which was aimed at providing badly needed working capital to the large number of educated and skilled youth in Vietnam. Through training, mentoring and financial services, young entrepreneurs had the opportunity to access capital to start new and expand existing small and medium-sized businesses and ultimately graduate to the formal banking sector. The project also sought to strengthen the management capacity of the local Vietnamese implementing partner in order that it can eventually cover its own costs and provide sustainable, locally based lending services to a growing cadre of young entrepreneurs.

Pact's approach

Together with Citibank and the local implementing partner, Pact identified potential candidates, provided them with relevant training in small business management, and offered loans to those who demonstrated the greatest potential for success. Access to the credit program was tied closely to a small business management-training program, which covered topics including business planning, market analysis, transparent accounting, cash flow projections, and linkages with the formal credit sector. Pact will be responsible for the training program, drawing upon its own CapitalPlus, which had proven successful in other Asian programs; Citibank provided the funding and credit line for the project; and the Vietnamese implementing partner performed outreach and assistance in identifying prospective candidates.