why we want you to invest your time, energy and capital in an adolescent girl

1. Girls are agents of change

They play a crucial role in solving the most persistent development problems facing the world today. By investing in their economic potential through education and by delaying child marriage and teen pregnancy, issues such as HIV and AIDS can be resolved and the cycle of poverty can be broken. To learn how a girl's success is the world's success, watch the girl effect films above.

2. People assume girls are being reached

They're not. The reality is that children's programmes focus on 0-5 year-olds, youth programmes tend to focus on males and older groups, and women's programmes don't typically capture adolescent girls. Programmes that do reach girls rarely address the ones most at risk. To break the cycle of intergenerational poverty, programmes must be designed for, and measure the impact on, girls.

3. The cost of excluding girls is high

In India, adolescent pregnancy results in nearly $10billion in lost potential income. In Uganda, 85 per cent of girls leave school early, resulting in $10billion in lost potential earnings. By delaying child marriage and early birth for one million girls, Bangladesh could potentially add $69billion to the national income over these girls' lifetimes.