The President of BBVA Microfinance Foundation, Manuel Méndez del Río and the Minister of Micro, Small and Medium-size Corporations Authority of Panama (Ministra de la Autoridad de la Micro, Pequeña y Mediana Empresa de Panamá), Giselle Murillo, signed the agreement in Madrid.
The alliance envisages joint actions, such as creating financial products and services, and carrying out projects and programmes of training and financial education.
Currently, the Foundation is present in Panama through its microfinance entity Microserfin.
Madrid, 17th of november, 2011.- The President of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation, Manuel del Río Piovich and the Minister of Micro, Small and Medium-size Corporations Authority of Panama (Ministra de la Autoridad de la Micro, Pequeña y Mediana Empresa), AMPYME, Giselle Burillo, have signed today in Madrid the first public-private alliance to manage microfinance in Panama jointly.
The agreement includes actions in several fields. On the one hand, to create new financial products and services, adapted to the different sectors of the market, for micro and small businesses, both in urban and rural areas. And, on the other hand, the development of formation projects in matters such as good governance, transparency or benchmarking to develop the microfinance market. At the same time, it includes projects of microfinance expertise, executives training at microfinance entities and financial education for the clients,
The BBVA Microfinance Foundation President remarked that “this public-private alliance originates in both parties sharing a same goal: to properly develop the market of Productive Finances in Panama, in order to grant more opportunities to the less-favoured population, so that they can initiate activities and improve the living standards of themselves and their families in a sustainable way”.
For her part, the Panamanian AMPYME Minister declared “subscribing this agreement sets, undoubtedly, a milestone for Panama. Through the alliance of AMPYME and BBVA Microfinance Foundation, we coordinate efforts and resources towards a much more effective and optimal use of the means available in Panama. And we do it with the best possible partner, the BBVA Microfinance Foundation, an entity which, in these three and a half years of activity, has shown the greatest knowledge and experience in the managing of Productive Finances”.
Ms. Giselle Burillo added on “with this alliance, no doubt, we are supporting the economic and social development of Panama, and promoting the entrepreneur spirit within the poorest sectors of the country’s population”.
About AMPYME (Panama)
The Authority of the Micro, Small and Medium Corporations (Autoridad de la Micro, Pequeña y Mediana Empresa) is a government institution of the Republic of Panama, whose main purpose is to promote the development of micro, small and medium size businesses, through implementing the National Politics to encourage and strengthen the sector.
It seeks to contribute to the Economic Growth of the country by creating productive employment and a better distribution of the National Income.
About the BBVA Microfinance Foundation
The BBVA Microfinance Foundation is a non-profitable entity devoted to promote the economic and social development of the less-favoured parts of society, by providing their access to Productive Microfinance.
Since it was constituted in 2007, the BBVA Microfinance Foundation has granted credits to entrepreneurs at the base of the pyramid in Latin America, for an accumulated of 2.500 million euros (€2.5 bn), at an average of 900 euros per credit.
In these barely three and a half years of operative activity, the Foundation attends to a current base of 1 million clients, through its eight microfinance entities in Latin America: Banco de las Microfinanzas-Bancamía (Colombia); Caja Nuestra Gente y Financiera Confianza (Peru); Fondo Esperanza y Emprende Microfinanzas (Chile); Servicios Microfinancieros (Argentina); Corporación para las Microfinanzas (Puerto Rico) and Microserfin (Panama).