- In the rural sector, these women make great gains in independence by undertaking productive activity in jobs that were once exclusive to men. The figures confirm this.
- 84% of the women customers served in 2014 were in a situation of economic vulnerability.
Greisy Bohórquez, at 29 years of age, has managed to make her own way, thanks to the initiative she showed a few years ago in setting up a small shop that has now become a supermarket. This entrepreneur is a mother of two children, aged 12 and 8, to whom she has been able to give a good education, decent housing and the happiness of a home. Her business has gone well and her husband has stopped working as a heavy machinery driver to help her with the project, which one day she decided to set up on her own.
At the end of 2014, Bancamía had 365,389 active customers, of whom 57% were women on low income. The bank supports them with its financial products and services, allowing them to undertake productive activities or businesses. 84% of the women entrepreneurs served by the bank belong to strata 1 and 2 (situation of financial vulnerability), 25% are young people under 35 years of age, 13% are heads of household and 55% have basic or primary education. 27% are from rural areas. 60% of the businesses run by women entrepreneurs with Bancamía’s support are dedicated primarily to commercial activities, and some 127,000 entrepreneurs undertake activities in the rural sector. This productive space was thought to be exclusive to men but women have gained ground in it, and some 47% of the Bank’s clients running businesses in rural Colombia are women.
To mark International Women’s Day, Bancamía’s Executive President, María Mercedes Gómez, took part in an event on March 6 named “Women who open the way, women who create opportunities”, organized by Colempresarias, the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce and Fenalco. This provides a space to describe how Bancamía has supported female entrepreneurship through Responsible Productive Finance, a methodology created by the BBVA Microfinance Foundation and implemented by eight leading microfinance institutions in seven of the continent’s countries.