Digital Financial Inclusion and Youth Entrepreneurship: Examining the Role of Fintech Innovation in Employment Creation and Economic Development—A Comparative Study of Germany and Italy

Digital financial inclusion is increasingly presented as a means of widening entrepreneurial opportunity, yet the mechanisms linking fintech innovation to sustainable youth employment remain insufficiently specified. This article examines Germany and Italy as contrasting European settings in which young entrepreneurs encounter different labour-market conditions, digital capabilities and entrepreneurial ecosystems. Using a structured integrative review of foundational scholarship and European institutional evidence, it develops a comparative explanatory framework connecting digital payments, alternative credit, crowdfunding and embedded financial services with enterprise entry, survival, growth and job quality. The review identifies four principal pathways: lower transaction costs, improved liquidity and credit visibility, wider market access, and strengthened financial resilience. However, the potential benefits depend on digital and financial literacy, consumer protection, affordable connectivity, trustworthy data governance and complementary entrepreneurial support. In 2025 youth unemployment was 7.1% in Germany and 20.6% in Italy, highlighting different employment contexts rather than proving any fintech effect. The article proposes six testable propositions and an evaluation agenda distinguishing fintech access from meaningful usage and enterprise outcomes. It concludes that fintech can enable youth entrepreneurship but cannot independently resolve structural employment constraints. Integrated policies linking responsible digital finance, skills, business development and evidence-based evaluation are required.