The YouthBank Story

Our story began with a street youth who survived the mean streets to become an activist who dreamt of starting a microfinance bank for other struggling young people in his city: Lagos, Nigeria.

In 2004, Theodore Ogbonna participated in the World Youth Centre (WYC), a pilot program for social entrepreneurs from around the world. He arrived in Toronto, Canada, with a story and an idea. Orphaned at seven, Theo had spent his youth in the shadow of Lagos's immense oil wealth, barely eking out a living on the streets by hawking candies, offering shoe shines, and desperately avoiding the infamous gangs of Area Boys that prowled the city.

Theo wanted to start YouthBank, a program to provide microcredit to street youth in Lagos, so they would have more opportunities than he had. Clara Chow, a Wharton student and volunteer at the WYC, helped him with his business plan. The two became good friends.

Clara's research showed that through 'village banks' and 'self-help groups,' microfinance was giving millions of the world's poorest entrepreneurs access to credit and savings products. Moreover, microfinance institutions were posting incredible repayment rates of 97-99%.

However, she realized that what made microfinance work so well in rural areas -- with mostly female borrowers tied by strong bonds of community and mutual accountability -- might not work as well with highly mobile young people in a hyper-urban environment like Lagos, which is flooded by over 6,000 newcomers every year, many of whom end up in over 42 slum neighborhoods.

Clara returned to school at the University of Pennsylvania, taking Theo's story with her. When Theo decided to move to Canada, Clara decided to pursue the idea of YouthBank and adapt the principles of microfinance to the needs of urban youth. Theo connected her to his team at African Youth For Transparency in Lagos, and introduced her to a dedicated youth leader named Victor Gotevbe.

Together, Clara and Victor built an international team. The organization they developed was different from what Theo envisioned, but it stayed true to his story, and the mission it inspired.