BBVAMF discusses new microfinance technologies at the service of development

17 July 2018 // Karessa Ramos
Fundación Microfinanzas BBVA

The BBVA Microfinance Foundation has recently participated in a workshop in Alicante that tackled how new technologies could impact on microfinance. Attendees exchanged stories about their experiences in using apps tailored to the needs of the entrepreneurs they serve.

“Our goal is to create the best microfinance/banking app using the very latest technology. We’re looking into the value that the internet of things (IoT), blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), chatbots and data analytics can offer our clients,” shared María José Jordá, head of BBVAMF Digital & Customer Experience, during her lecture in the said event that was organized by IT&S Open Space Technology.

“Having in-house teams motivated to do something great is the key that will guarantee the success of our proposal”

She also described how the Foundation’s six microfinance institutions in five Latin-American countries are “really excited about the project.” “Having in-house teams motivated to do something great is the key that will guarantee the success of our proposal,” she said.

Workshop organizer Andrés Pedreño, co-founder of IT&IS and president of AlicanTEC, also participated, describing his experiences providing chatbot services in Latin America. Andrés Torrubia, CEO of Fixr.com, spoke of image recognition (automated assessment of objects in images), while Manuel Marco, professor at Alicante University and Leonel Iriarte, professor at Havana University discussed how IoT can impact rural life.

This is the second event that BBVAMF has attended in Alicante during the last few weeks related to the application of such technologies. In June, María José Jordá was also invited to speak at the Third Seminar of the BAES Research Group, the Inter-University Institute of International Economics and AlicanTEC, held at Alicante University under the title ‘Blockchain & IA: New global challenges facing the financial system and business cooperation models”.