Children’s savings, an approach to financial inclusion: Chispitas from the fundación Ayú, Oaxaca, México

Abstract

Microfinances have placed an emphasis on microcredits, leaving aside other elements of financial services such as savings in poor families, and virtually ignoring the presence and participation of girls and boys in schemes such as the savings funds. The article analyzes the operation of two savings funds as part of the strategy used to combat poverty, by Fundación Ayú, in the Mixtec Region of Oaxaca, which allows, promotes and stimulates children’s savings, contributing to the financial inclusion of boys, girls and teenagers. The study was carried out in the municipality of San Francisco Jaltepetongo, Oaxaca. The methodology used was based on the application of a questionnaire, interviews and a financial education workshop. Results indicate that the presence and example of mothers in the savings funds are the principal influence for boys and girls to save; also, empirically, they distinguish between desires and needs, a basis for future financial education, so their savings have specific objectives that they decide for themselves. The conclusion is that boys and girls begin to relate with terms such as loan, interest, money management, which brings them closer to being financially included, outside formal banking.