Promoting sustainable agriculture and digitalization in rural areas is key to not leave anybody behind

Ever since the Sustainable Development Goals have been approved, BBVAMF has served almost 700,000 rural entrepreneurs to boost and improve the conditions in rural areas, and make sure that no one is left behind

19 June 2019
Fundación Microfinanzas BBVA

For two days, more than 8,000 representatives from 1,200 organizations from 140 countries gathered in the European Development Days, organized by the European Commission, to discuss the challenges faced by the international cooperation and development sector. In this forum, considered the  “Davos of Development”, held annually in Brussels, BBVA Microfinance Foundation has tackled the role of technology in generating sustainable development and how to overcome one of the planet’s major hurdles: climate change.

“Financial inclusion has an enormous potential to transform the rural environment and achieve United Nations 2030 Agenda”, assured BBVA Microfinance Foundation’s head of Sustainable Finance Solutions, Concepción Blanco. She was one of the speakers in the high level panel entitled “Promoting Sustainable Agriculture and Trade for Inclusive Growth”. Representatives from the European Commission, United Nations and other important international organizations have also taken part.

“No country has achieved a reduction of poverty without increasing the productivity of the agricultural sector

According to the Foundation’s representative, “no country has achieved a reduction of poverty without increasing the productivity of the agricultural sector”. This is why the Foundation supports small scale farmers with loans and insurance that are adapted to their crops, in addition to giving them advice so they could be more efficient. Ever since the Sustainable Development Goals were approved, BBVAMF has served almost 700,000 rural entrepreneurs to boost and improve the conditions in rural areas, and make sure that no one is left behind.

Specifically, in Colombia, BBVMF has a demonstration farm to teach more sustainable and environmental friendly techniques in farming, which helps deter climate change effects and increase farmers’ resilience. This project is part of the MEbA initiative (Microfinance for Ecosystem-based Adaptation), driven by UN Environment and local institutions.

This model’s success has been replicated in the Dominican Republic, where the Foundation’s local institution already implements a green financing program called Rural and Environmental Finance (FRA in Spanish) to support rural entrepreneurs, who constitute more than 40% of the Dominican MFI’s credit clients.

Director of Digital & Client Experience for BBVAMF in the European Development Days

To comply with one of United Nations’ main mandates that says “leave no one behind”, the Foundation also brings digitalization closer to the remote corners of Latin America, in five countries where it operates. Director of Digital & Client Experience for BBVAMF, Maria José Jordá, was also in the EDD where she addressed the impact of digitalization in the sustainable development of people living under vulnerable conditions, “The commitment towards our entrepreneurs goes beyond offering them a mobile application to manage their finances. Bringing them closer to the digital world helps them integrate digitalization in their day to day activities and widen the outreach of their products and services”.