{"id":20483,"date":"2018-07-25T19:21:30","date_gmt":"2018-07-25T17:21:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fundacionmicrofinanzasbbva.org\/en\/financiera-confianza-apuesta-uso-la-tecnologia-movil-reducir-la-pobreza-rural\/"},"modified":"2018-09-04T13:53:57","modified_gmt":"2018-09-04T11:53:57","slug":"financiera-confianza-apuesta-uso-la-tecnologia-movil-reducir-la-pobreza-rural","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fundacionmicrofinanzasbbva.org\/en\/financiera-confianza-apuesta-uso-la-tecnologia-movil-reducir-la-pobreza-rural\/","title":{"rendered":"Financiera Confianza invests in mobile technology to combat rural poverty"},"content":{"rendered":"

To accelerate processes and offer better services to clients, Financiera Confianza<\/a> leverages technology, enabling it to reach remote areas where people are more vulnerable due to their lack of access to many services, including financial products. According to the BBVA Microfinance Foundation\u2019s Social Performance Report<\/a> presented this morning in Lima, 26% of the over 210,000 borrowers that it serves live in rural areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnology is vital to reach these places, where poverty is concentrated. In fact, 68% of rural clients who were poor they took out their first loan, crossed the poverty threshold in the third year of working with our institution\u201d<\/strong>, assured the head of Impact Measurement & Strategic Development at the Foundation, Stephanie G. Van Gool.<\/p>\n

The general manager of Financiera Confianza, Luis Germ\u00e1n Linares also described how \u201cthe technology-based tools we\u2019re developing enable us to be more efficient, have wider outreach and give faster service to more people.<\/strong> We try to take the branch office to the clients\u2019 homes or their places of work. That way, we have more time allotted for financial education, which complements our mission in remote areas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The financial advisors at Financiera Confianza take mobile devices with them when they visit the entrepreneurs\u2019 businesses. Using an app designed by the Foundation, they can respond to their clients\u2019 needs so that the latter won\u2019t have to spend time and money to make a trip to a branch office.<\/strong> The app also lets the advisors perform credit scoring and geolocalization for the businesses without internet connection; information is stored and will synch with the advisors\u2019 portfolio data once they go online.<\/p>\n

According to Carolina Trivelli, former minister for Social Inclusion & Development in Peru, poverty in the country is largely concentrated in the countryside, and financial inclusion plays a decisive role in reducing it. \u201cThe challenge is for 75% of the population to get a bank account by 2025,\u201d<\/strong> she stated during the event.<\/p>\n

The secretary for Gobierno Digital<\/em> (Digital Governance) for Peru, Marushka Chocobar, explained that since digitalization is a process that can impact everyone, the government is working actively with the private sector to improve digital inclusion.<\/p>\n

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In the panel entitled \u201cTechnology and Microfinance to create opportunities for rural development\u201d, moderated by Sandra Ja\u00faregui, Financiera Confianza\u2019s general manager for Economic Studies; participants included Carolina Trivelli, former minister for Development and Social Inclusion; Marushka Chocobar, secretary for Gobierno Digital (Digital Governance) for Peru and Financiera Confianza\u2019s general manager, Luis Germ\u00e1n Linares<\/p><\/div>\n

The closing of the event was led by the deputy head of International Relations & Communication, \u00d3scar Basso. He declared that \u201cdigital transformation and technology, along with an understanding of clients, make it possible to offer products that are designed to meet the needs of vulnerable groups.\u201d He then highlighted the Foundation\u2019s committed effort to continue developing a model based on support and advice, as well as its methodology for social measurement.<\/p>\n

Financiera Confianza is the only microfinance institution in Peru with nationwide coverage<\/h3>\n

\u201cWe already serve over half a million people throughout the country, with both credit and savings products, and we provide technical advice to help them progress over time. As the Social Performance Report describes, the entrepreneurs\u2019 assets are growing close to 30% each year. That means they are accumulating wealth and can reinvest it in their business to keep on growing,\u201d explained Stephanie G. Van Gool.<\/p>\n