● Responsible Productive Finance is the Foundation’s own methodology for the sustainable and inclusive development of vulnerable entrepreneurs in underprivileged communities as a means of fostering their financial inclusion.
● The BBVA Microfinance Foundation has an important delegation at Foromic 2015.
- Productive Finance is the Foundation’s own methodology for the sustainable and inclusive development of vulnerable entrepreneurs in underprivileged communities as a means of fostering their financial inclusion.
- The BBVA Microfinance Foundation has an important delegation at Foromic 2015.
The BBVA Microfinance Foundation is a non-profit organization set up in 2007 by the BBVA Group within the framework of its corporate social responsibility. Its mission is to promote the sustainable and inclusive economic and social development of vulnerable entrepreneurs through Productive Finance. The idea is to facilitate the provision of financial products and services (credit, savings, insurance and remittances among others), advice, training and support designed to foster the growth of productive activities by low-income entrepreneurs.
“We are working to create a better future for the disadvantaged population, and we are doing so in a responsible and sustainable way, by promoting the development of entrepreneurs, their families and their communities. Our activities are focused on vulnerable customers, and our mission is to enable them to advance by generating and accumulating surpluses in their businesses so they have the wherewithal to improve their lives. Through its eight microfinance banks, the Foundation currently serves over 1.6 million customers, and since its creation has disbursed over 6.5 billion US dollars in productive loans. 85% of its loan customers are in a situation of financial vulnerability (with a daily income of less than 3.8 USD)”, explains Javier Flores, chairman of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation.
An important delegation from the BBVA Microfinance Foundation will be present at FOROMIC “The future of financial inclusion”, which takes place in Chile from 26 to 28 October.
Margarita Correa, executive vice president of Bancamía, on the panel “From the clouds of the countryside: digital services for agricultural financing” will outline the Group’s commitment to innovation through the use of mobile devices in order to reduce transaction costs, in addition to other technological initiatives they have developed.
Karina Gómez Gálvez, national manager of the Fondo Esperanza branch office network, on the panel “Micro-insurance policies and their effectiveness in cases of natural disasters”, and Miguel Achury, vice president for Planning and Development at Bancamía, on the panel “Capturing new customers through green products: success stories in a new frontier for microfinance” will describe the innovative approaches of the Group in these areas.
“The essence of microfinance is its innovation in providing small-scale financial services to a low-income clientele. The value of its relationships has reduced the costs and risks for the microfinance institution, which has in turn made it possible to increase the breadth and depth of the coverage of its services” explains Claudio González-Vega, chairman of the Trustees of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation.
The Foundation’s main activity is the consolidation and management of its group of microfinance institutions in Latin America, in which it is the majority shareholder and responsible for their management. The group comprises Banco de las Microfinanzas Bancamía (Colombia), Financiera Confianza (Peru), Banco Adopem (Dominican Republic), Fondo Esperanza and Emprende Microfinanzas (Chile), Contigo (Argentina), Microserfin (Panama) and Corporación para las Microfinanzas (Puerto Rico).
The Foundation -also philanthropically- develops initiatives designed to support and transform the microfinance sector and overcome the obstacles that hinder its much-needed expansion. The Foundation promotes good corporate governance, proper regulation and the training of human capital, in addition to a reliable system of social measurement.
One of its most notable initiatives is its reference publication for training in good governance, entitled “Progress: Finance for Inclusion and Development”. This details the latest legal developments and the most important changes in the regulation in the microfinance sector, and all the news on corporate governance at the global level.
The Foundation has developed its own system of social measurement based on a set of social and economic metrics, which has become a benchmark for the microfinance sector. Each year, under the title “Measuring what really matters”, it publishes its Performance Report containing a summary of the main indicators that show the impact of its activity.