{"id":44420,"date":"2025-06-10T11:00:59","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T09:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fundacionmicrofinanzasbbva.org\/los-emprendedores-lideran-la-creacion-de-empleo-en-espana-y-en-america-latina\/"},"modified":"2025-06-10T13:03:53","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T11:03:53","slug":"entrepreneurs-lead-job-creation-in-spain-and-latin-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fundacionmicrofinanzasbbva.org\/en\/entrepreneurs-lead-job-creation-in-spain-and-latin-america\/","title":{"rendered":"Entrepreneurs lead job creation in Spain and Latin America"},"content":{"rendered":"

The BBVA Microfinance Foundation\u2019s (BBVAMF) 2024 Impact Report shows that vulnerable entrepreneurs supported by its microfinance institutions (MFIs) <\/span>employed more than 158,000 people<\/b> in Colombia, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Chile and Panama in the same year.<\/span><\/h2>\n

These figures are part of a regional context where <\/span>micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) account for 99% of all businesses and generate approximately 60% of formal employment<\/b> in Latin America and the Caribbean, <\/span>according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development<\/span><\/a> (OECD). In Spain, the importance of SMEs is very similar: they also represent 99% of all companies and employ 62% of the population, <\/span>according to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A Spanish foundation that promotes employment and development in Latin America<\/b><\/h3>\n

\u00a0The BBVAMF supports more than <\/span>three million low-income entrepreneurs<\/b> in five Latin American countries. In 2024, it<\/span> disbursed microloans worth more than $1.5 billion<\/b>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Impact Report<\/a> notes that the long-term relationship with them\u2014beyond the loan\u2014is key to transforming their lives: “Combining financing, education and digitalization has a transformative impact on the lives of thousands of families, contributing to poverty reduction and job creation. <\/span>After three credit cycles, most of the entrepreneurs we serve have overcome poverty<\/b>,” explains Stephanie Garc\u00eda Van Gool, director of Impact Measurement and Strategic Development at BBVAMF. <\/span><\/p>\n

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entrepreneur \u00c9lida Flores employs four people on her organic cocoa farm in the Peruvian jungle<\/p><\/div>\n

BBVAMF is the first private institution to measure multidimensional poverty in each household it serves, which includes analyzing deprivations in health, education, and housing in order to assess their needs and offer them tailored products and services. According to the Foundation’s report, 36% of new entrepreneurs accessed the financial system for the first time thanks to the BBVAMF, more than half are under 30 years old, and 40% live in rural areas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n