Lily Lapenna, Founder & CEO of MyBnk

Sam Lakha

June 15, 2010

Empowering young people to build the knowledge, skills and confidence to manage their money effectively and make enterprising choices throughout their lives – these are the key drivers for MyBnk, an award-winning educational social enterprise based in London, UK.

John Elkington had the opportunity to chat with Lily Lapenna, MyBnk’s founder, who also is one of the innovators engaged in a programme co-evolved by Allianz and Volans.

John Elkington:  So, Lily, thank you for agreeing to be the guinea pig in our new series of brief interviews with innovators and entrepreneurs leading the charge in what we dub “the business of social innovation.”

Lily Lapenna:  Guinea pigs don’t have much idea ahead of time of what’s expected of them!

John:  True, but you’ve been through our Bloomsbury Place offices, you know our agenda and you are also now involved in one of our major partnerships—with Allianz, the German financial services group, helping open out the horizons of their fast-track executives.  So you at least have a head start!

Incidentally, congratulations again on your many achievements that are getting more and more impressive – being named Young Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the last UK Government’s Secretary of State for Children, your Ashoka Fellowship, announced in January, and your recent funding from Friends Provident Foundation.  All clear evidence that your peers appreciate what you’re doing.  But if you met someone who didn’t know you, how would you sum up your career to date?

Lily:  Working in Bangladesh some years back, I woke up to the potential impact of micro-finance and saving services.  I subsequently created MyBnk, an innovative social enterprise created by young people for young people, which is rolling out an exciting educational program for schools and colleges in the UK. Having worked with over 20,000 young people in 100 institutions in London, MyBnk is partnering with organisations to expand into at least more 30 schools and colleges in order to establish financial and enterprise hubs of excellence across the UK.  I also believe that MyBnk’s ability to work in partnership with private sector companies, like Allianz, provides us with an opportunity to show the social sector that collaboration is an important part of how an organisation can scale, something that foundations recognize when assessing us for funding.

John:  And what’s the social context for MyBnk’s activities?

Lily: With national debt in the UK having smashed through the £1.5 trillion mark (exceeding UK GDP), MyBnk believes today’s youth must improve their financial survival skills to beat the credit crunch or they risk becoming another economic statistic. So, for example:

• 90% of adults have never received any financial literacy education
• 31% of youths believe that they will not get into debt, despite graduates leaving university owing an average of £ £12,363
• and 800,000 respondents in a recent MoneySense Panel thought that an ISA was an iPod accessory

John: Pretty grim—and this is in a supposedly developed country.  So what are you hoping to achieve?

Lily: By learning about responsible saving and borrowing within schools, colleges and youth organisations, we aim to better equip young people to avoid accumulating a spiraling debt burden early in life.  MyBnk creates opportunities for students to make informed decisions about financial services and to engage with the banking system so it works for rather than against them. MyBnk also invites young people to question what banks do with their money and to consider ethical policies when shopping for a bank.

John: What does the Ashoka Fellowship mean to you?

Lily:  First, there’s the recognition for what we’re doing.  Ashoka Fellows are billed as world-leading social entrepreneurs who are recognized to demonstrate unrivalled commitment to bold new social ideas.  It’s wonderful to be part of a global network of like-minded changemakers, working in over 60 countries in every area of human need.  The fellowship offers funding over three years—allowing MyBnk to reach even more young people.

John:  At a time when bankers are in the doghouse, you’re offering a bank-in-a-box.  What is it exactly?

Lily: MyBnk-in-a-Box provides the first ever FSA [Financial Services Authority] approved independent banking scheme run for young people by young people. Parallels are drawn with real-world banking, and each MyBnk-in-a-Box provides a place to save regularly and to take out small interest free loans to set up enterprises. The idea is that MyBnk-in-a-Box is run throughout the whole school year, with MyBnk Open Days scheduled weekly. This allows for finance and enterprise learning to be embedded throughout the year. Each branch is run by trained MyBnkers (young people) with support from the MyBnk Mentor(s) (teachers or youth workers) and facilitation from MyBnk staff.

John:  And when people ask what’s so special about MyBnk?

Lily: What’s not?! We run youth-led, fun and interactive programmes that young people engage with, helping them to understand finance, become better prepared for independent life and encourage them to make a positive contribution to their community.

John: Ultimately, that’s a key reason why we’re so interested—in the belief that this sort of approach can help young people think about the future, a skill which they’re going to need in so many areas of their lives. Good luck—and keep us posted, Lily.