{"id":11191,"date":"2017-05-29T19:22:35","date_gmt":"2017-05-29T17:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fundacionmicrofinanzasbbva.org\/en\/?p=11191"},"modified":"2018-05-22T18:49:39","modified_gmt":"2018-05-22T16:49:39","slug":"hm-the-queen-of-spain-chairs-bbva-microfinance-foundations-tenth-anniversary-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fundacionmicrofinanzasbbva.org\/en\/hm-the-queen-of-spain-chairs-bbva-microfinance-foundations-tenth-anniversary-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"HM the Queen of Spain chairs BBVA Microfinance Foundation\u2019s tenth anniversary celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"

The challenges of financial inclusion: technological challenges and the role of women in the economy were the main topics addressed in the Forum on Financial Inclusion and Development<\/strong> organized by the BBVA Microfinance Foundation, Chaired by Her Majesty the Queen.<\/strong><\/p>\n

During her address, Queen Letizia paid tribute to BBVA Microfinance Foundation\u2019s determination to promote development in a region as unequal as Latin America and its transformative role in the lives of almost two million vulnerable individuals, with impact on the second generation. “There is something in common among all of them: the individual drive, the eagerness to improve, the desire to achieve a better life.<\/strong> And in most cases, behind all that energy is the profound longing for progress for their children”, said the Queen.\u00a0“This is the breakthrough that marks the difference in the economic and social reality of a country”, she added.
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“This is the breakthrough that marks the difference in the economic and social reality of a country”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Francisco Gonz\u00e1lez also made reference to the progress of these entrepreneurs, of which he learnt first-hand during a recent trip to Colombia. \u201cI was impressed by the drive, effort and enthusiasm that the entrepreneurs put in to build a better life for themselves and for their families,\u201d said BBVA\u2019s Group Executive Chairman.<\/p>\n

Panel “The experience of Entrepreneurs with the BBVA Microfinance Foundation” during the commemorative act of the Foundation’s 10th Anniversary<\/p><\/div>\n

That is why he advocated for the need to keep working towards financial inclusion, in a world where 2 billion people still don\u2019t have a bank account. \u201cThe lack of access to financial services limits the development opportunities and hinders the social inclusion of more vulnerable people,\u201d<\/strong> he said. Francisco Gonz\u00e1lez added that \u201c77% of the people that managed to pull out of poverty do so through entrepreneurial initiative, with financial exclusion as the key obstacle they had to overcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Precisely, as Economics Nobel Prize Winner Angus Deaton<\/strong> noted during the keynote speech of the Forum, inequality is an \u201cintrinsic part of progress, because not everyone benefits from it in the same manner.\u201d As a solution to this issue, he emphasized the importance of knowledge: \u201cOne of the best ways to help the disadvantaged is to share useful knowledge with them: both the essential knowledge and the know-how of businesses and entrepreneurs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Norma Viviana Ord\u00f3\u00f1ez, Quint\u00edn Quispe, Diana C\u00e9spedes and Rosa Norambuena travelled to Spain from Colombia, Peru, Dominican Republic and Chile to share their testimonials about how the Foundation\u2019s support was pivotal for their efforts to build their businesses and improve their lives and the lives of those around them. \u201cThe good thing about this institution is that they don\u2019t just lend me the money. They also teach me how to use it well,\u201d<\/strong> said Diana, banana farmer and fisherwoman, and entrepreneur from the BBVA Microfinance Foundation\u2019s entity in Dominican Republic. This project allows her to provide for her family and send her children to school.<\/p>\n