The BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF) participated in the Financial Inclusion Week (FIW) 2025, the annual gathering for professionals, technical specialists, regulators, and other key stakeholders driving inclusive finance. This initiative was organized by the Center for Financial Inclusion under the theme: “Building Resilience & Well-being During Rising Uncertainties.”
For over a decade, FIW has been a space for sharing knowledge, driving new ideas, and fostering collaboration across sectors and countries. This year, it brought together more than 200 experts from Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America to discuss how financial systems can empower and make the most vulnerable more resilient in the face of economic shocks, climate change, and technological advancements that are impacting the work of financial institutions, communities, and people’s daily lives in general.
AI for climate resilience
According to the Center for Financial Inclusion, one in four adults globally experienced a natural disaster in the last three years, and two-thirds of them lost income or assets as a result.
During the session “When AI Meets Inclusive Finance: Building Flood Resilience for Colombia’s Micro Entrepreneurs“, BBVAMF, Bancamía (the Foundation’s Colombian entity), Atram, and CGAP shared their knowledge on the implementation of the Contingent Line of Credit (CLOC), focusing on adopting preventive measures before a climate event occurs (for example, allocating resources in advance), ensuring a rapid economic recovery through immediate credit after the impact, and on how to help entrepreneurs make better long-term decisions.
Session: When AI Meets Inclusive Finance: Building Flood Resilience for Colombia’s Micro Entrepreneurs
Susana González Moreno, BBVAMF’s specialist in sustainability and climate change, explained, “At BBVAMF, we know that our entrepreneurs are very vulnerable to climate events. It is precisely for this reason that our sustainability strategy goes beyond just being ‘green’: it focuses on resilience and adaptation. The goal is clear: to use technology and data to grant access to resources before a climate crisis, ensuring a faster economic recovery for our entrepreneurs.”
Decoding the financial health puzzle
Financial health and well-being was another main theme at FIW 2025. The Foundation, in alliance with CGAP, UNSGSA, and the Financial Health Network, organized the session “The Financial Health Puzzle: Missing Pieces in Interventions and Measurement“, where they debated the need to go beyond financial services to support vulnerable entrepreneurs so that their financial health and well-being are sustainable.
Stephanie García Van Gool, BBVAMF’s Impact Director, recalled that recent Findex data reveals a crucial reality: while access to financial services has increased, it is not enough. “For people and communities to thrive, we must shift our focus from access to financial services to true financial health: the ability to manage daily finances, absorb shocks, and seize opportunities. This gap between access and well-being presents both a challenge and an urgent need for innovation”, she explained.
Furthermore, García Van Gool highlighted that “at BBVAMF, we focus on applying lessons learned by accompanying vulnerable entrepreneurs, a segment with unique challenges such as the digital divide, both in access and skills. We believe the way forward lies in behavioral science. By creating a framework that uses nudges and gamification, we can help our entrepreneurs move from the simple intention to save to achieving resilience. It’s about more than product design; it’s about creating a path toward true and lasting economic security.”
Session: The Financial Health Puzzle: Missing Pieces in Interventions and Measurement
A commitment to Sustainable Inclusion
The Foundation continues to pave the way for the sustainable development of the most vulnerable. Its participation reaffirmed its commitment to driving innovative solutions to support the progress of entrepreneurs in Latin America. The BBVAMF has served over 7 million low-income individuals with small businesses and disbursed over $22 billion in loans since its creation.
