- The BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF) is invited by the European Commission to talk about the importance of technology for the economic and social development of vulnerable entrepreneurs.
- The European Development Days (EDD) take place in Brussels on 15 and 16 June. This is the European Union’s most important development event, and is attended every year by thousands of participants from the sector.
The BBVAMF took part in a high-level panel entitled “Digital technologies’ contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals” as an important example of the private sector’s support for the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDS).
Claudio González-Vega, chairman of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, explained how innovation and technological development improve access to financial services by vulnerable populations. The BBVA Microfinance Foundation is firmly committed to technological innovation, and its digital projects include a pilot program in Peru in which over one thousand of its employees, equipped with mobile devices, will bring the branch office to the entrepreneurs’ own homes and workplaces, thereby reducing transaction costs for both the customer and the bank. The goal is to use the new digital tools to reinforce direct contact and strengthen the relationship with the customers.
Other panel members included Andrus Ansip, Vice President for the Digital Single Market on the European Commission, and Alexander De Croo, Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium and Minister of Development Cooperation and Telecommunications, and other leading representatives of the private and public sector.
Within the framework of the EDD, the Foundation organized the session entitled “Technology & innovation in financial inclusion for sustainable development – Making a positive impact on the lives of the poor”, moderated by Claudio González-Vega. The aim was to stimulate and debate innovative ideas and solutions to facilitate the adaptation of digital technologies that improve vulnerable people’s access to and use of financial services, and to recommend policies and international cooperation initiatives that contribute to a more favorable and secure environment in the digitization process.
The BBVAMF presented its 2015 Development Report entitled “Measuring what really matters”, which analyzes the progress of the over 1.7 million vulnerable entrepreneurs it serves in Latin America, through its responsible productive finance services and training in support of small businesses.