Media coverage of the BBVAMF’s special session in the UN

Jessica Hernández had never left Colombia, but her image carrying a washing machine while walking uphill, has been all over the world. Her story of personal triumph, her desire to progress and her courage to develop a project, while caring for her family, have reached many corners of the globe.

 

Television screens, radios, newspapers, tablets or smartphones, allowed this Colombian entrepreneur of the BBVAMF inside millions of homes, capturing people’s interest despite of the constant influx of information. Hers is a story that started with washing machines, and today it takes us to the United Nations headquarters in New York. [See Event’s Photogallery]

This is how the international media recounted this story.

Jessica en el Telediario de TVE

  • EFE Agency summarized the event highlights in a video report, including subsequent statements of the speakers, as well as Jessica. “Microcredits are important in an entrepreneur’s life”, she declared.
  • ‘The microcredit that started to change Jessica’s life’, was how El País (Planeta Futuro) headlined its report, narrating her story since the beginning, up to today. Step by step, the article describes her progress, and how despite of starting with very little, she is now achieving a lot. [Click here to access the article’s photogallery]

Publicación de El País (Planeta Futuro)

Entrevistas tras la sesión de la FMBBVA en la sede la ONU en Nueva York

  • In the BBVA corporate website, Jessica appeared in the title page as ‘The other fearless girl’, alluding to Kristen Visbal’s sculpture in New York, which has been challenging the bull in Wall Street since March 8th, 2017. “I’m a woman, I’m an entrepreneur and I’m not afraid to start a new business and be successful”, shared Jessica in front of the cameras in the UN headquarters, captured by this article. [Click here to watch BBVA’s video report]

‘Jessica, the Colombian entrepreneur whose story swayed the UN’

  • In the UN News, Jessica Hernández has been portrayed as a success story. This 28-year old woman won through life’s adversities and now sends a message to all those who are going through difficulties, “We are the ones who hinder ourselves to progress. When one wills it, one pushes through.”

Publicación de El Tiempo, Colombia

  • In Colombia, Jessica’s native country,  El TiempoRCN RadioRadio CaracolBlu RadioSoacha IlustradaLa Cariñosa o Amor Stéreo also featured their fellow Colombian, and her life’s progress thanks to enterprising.
  • Dominican media ((El DíaNuevo DiarioArgentarium and Noticias Sin) compiled statements from some of the speakers, as well as the CEO of the BBVAMF, Javier M. Flores. He explained that the Foundation “serves the needs of small, low-income entrepreneurs, the majority of them like Jessica, who with their hard work and struggle, secure a better life for themselves and their communities.”
  • JC Magazine and GanaMás in Perú captured Jessica’s words, “I’m not afraid to start a new business and make it successful.” The entrepreneur also alluded to the support she received from the BBVA Microfinance Foundation through Bancamía, “No other bank would take a chance on a female head of household.”

Jessica Hernández transportando una lavadora en Soacha (Colombia)

  • In other countries like Venezuela (Entorno Inteligente and Al Navío) and Bolivia (El Deber), the papers outlined how microcredits have changed this entrepreneur’s life. “She is a single mother of four, who used to rent washing machines by the hour in Soacha, a neighboring town of Bogotá. There, she would carry the machines on her shoulders and go from a client’s house to another. Microcredits have helped her build a business.”
  • In the US, where the session took place, UnivisiónPR NewswireMicrofinance Gateway CGAPBarchart, Markets WND, Tickertech y Voz América Noticias, all mentioned the BBVAMF’s efforts and its contribution to the United Nations 2030 Agenda (SDGs).