In a world where information multiplies daily, the proper use of data has become a tool to improve health, preserve the environment and fight poverty. This was highlighted by the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF) at the event “Datos que mejoran vidas” (Data That Improves Lives), chaired by H.M. the Queen.
In her speech, the Queen stressed that technology and data analytics must contribute to improving the lives of those who need it most and praised the work of the BBVAMF, which supports more than three million vulnerable entrepreneurs in five Latin American countries.
The BBVAMF’s more than 4,000 credit analysts collect information on housing, health, education, access to clean water, Internet and the way households manage their finances from the entrepreneurs they support when they visit them, even in remote areas.
One of these analysts, Luis Miyahara, from Financiera Confianza, the Foundation’s Peruvian institution, reinforced Queen Letizia’s message by stressing that getting to know the entrepreneurs in person allows them to detect their needs to design financial and training products adapted to their needs and situations.
In fact, the latest BBVAMF Impact Report points out that 52% of the population in the countries where it operates suffers from digital poverty, a gap the foundation seeks to reduce with financial education programs and digital tools.
Elix Orozco, an entrepreneur supported by Bancamía, the Foundation’s institution in Colombia, highlighted this point. She guaranteed that financial training and the use of mobile applications have allowed her to successfully run her hair salon: “I learned to manage money, to use the app and to plan. Seeing everything we have built fills me with pride because I wouldn’t have been able to do it alone. Being poor doesn’t stop you from progressing,” she said, clearly moved.
Group photo from the event “Datos que mejoran vidas” (Data that improves lives), organized by the BBVA Microfinance Foundation
Assessing multidimensional poverty
The BBVAMF is the first private organization in the world to apply the Multidimensional Poverty Index created by the University of Oxford, used in more than 100 countries. This index evaluates deficiencies in housing, health, education and digital poverty, among others, to measure poverty in its multiple dimensions and design effective policies for its eradication.
“We have supported more than seven and a half million people since the Foundation was created. Thanks to the data, we know that today, 53% of the entrepreneurs we support overcome poverty after three credit cycles,” explained Javier M. Flores, the Foundation’s CEO. For his part, BBVA Chairman Carlos Torres Vila highlighted “the value of knowledge and innovation as drivers of social and economic transformation. Every piece of data is an opportunity to improve lives and create a future with greater well-being and progress for all.”
Spanish innovation that cares and nurtures
The event also showcased projects from other Spanish organizations that use data to benefit people. One of them was the Gregorio Marañón University Hospital, which has become a European benchmark thanks to its Healthcare Control Center, a “great digital brain” that integrates clinical and logistical information to reduce waiting lists, anticipate patients’ medical complications and improve their care.
“If a patient presents a risk of sepsis, the system alerts us immediately. Last year alone, we had more than three million diagnostic tests that generated an immense amount of data, which has served us to create predictive models with more than 90% accuracy,” explained Dr. Sonia García de San José, manager of the public hospital.
Furthermore, there was a discussion on how data allows for improving the quality of the food that reaches our tables while also contributing to caring for the environment. Belén Cavestany, an organic farmer in Extremadura and Pablo Morán, engineer and founder of the Agrodato company, shared how digital monitoring helps optimize agricultural resources.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), digitalization and artificial intelligence can increase crop yields by up to 30% and reduce post-harvest losses by 20%. In Spain, digital tools specializing in calculating water allocation are among the most used in the field and almost 90% of agricultural holdings collect data from their plots, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.
The event “Datos que mejoran vidas” showed how Spanish technological innovation, from microfinance to healthcare and agriculture, translates into well-being and opportunities for millions of people.
