A digital money-savings pilot has been launched for minors living on the streets of Togo’s capital.

The Safe Savings (SaVa) Project is a collaboration between international non-profit Terre des Hommes (Tdh), Ecobank and the Movement for Young African Workers, and will provide 150 street children and underage migrants access to a digital piggy bank, through the help of a mobile app.

According to Tdh, many children living informally are victims of theft and the misappropriation of whatever money they are able to earn – some children even resort to burying their cash in an attempt to keep it safe. The pilot, however, will see Tdh providing the children with mobile phones as well as training, enabling them to open a bank account via an Ecobank mobile app, and make deposits and withdrawals at pop-up bank facilities installed at hope points (meeting areas for children where they are given assistance and guidance).

‘Children in the streets are often subject to abuse, neglect, exploitation, and need our protection,’ says Ecobank group CEO Ade Ayeyemi. ‘By offering them a reliable and secure saving mechanism we hope we can help them protect their livelihoods and build a better future.’

26 February 2019
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