The Diplomat in Spain

The Diplomat

The BBVA Microfinance Foundation is joining the Edison Alliance with the commitment to contribute to the digital inclusion of vulnerable populations in Latin America. This was announced on Monday by the bank’s Chairman and CEO, Carlos Torres, during his participation in the World Economic Forum being held in Davos, Switzerland.

Edison is an alliance promoted by the Davos Forum to accelerate people’s access to digitalisation, with a focus on financial inclusion, education and health. It brings together leaders from the public and private sectors to reduce the digital divide that affects 37% of the world’s population, 2.9 million people, 96% of them in developing countries, according to data from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the United Nations specialised agency for telecommunications.

According to the latest data from the World Bank, almost 1.7 billion adults, most of them in poor countries, do not have a bank account, which represents 31% of the world’s adult population.

The BBVA Microfinance Foundation plans to disburse, through its microfinance institutions, €7 billion in productive loans and to provide direct assistance with its productive finance methodology (financial services, training and advice) to 4.5 million low-income entrepreneurs, mostly women, with digital solutions and programmes for their development in digital and financial skills or access to the Internet.

The entity estimates that it will impact the lives of more than 14 million people from vulnerable sectors.

Torres is the only Spaniard of the 46 personalities who are part of the Edison Alliance, including the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Achim Steiner, Queen Máxima of the Netherlands, in her capacity as special advisor to the UN Secretary General on Financial Inclusion for Development.

“The combined effect of digitalisation and education offers endless opportunities to the most vulnerable and positively impacts their lives. Promoting inclusive and sustainable growth is a key strategic priority for BBVA,” said BBVA’s Chairman and CEO.

The BBVA Microfinance Foundation is a non-profit organization created by BBVA in 2007 as part of its corporate social responsibility to support vulnerable people. Its aim is to promote the economic and social development of these entrepreneurs. In its 15 years of activity, its microfinance institutions in five Latin American countries have delivered more than 14 billion euros in loans to low-income entrepreneurs. Thus, for the third consecutive year, it is the second foundation in the world in terms of its contribution to development, after the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the first in Latin America, according to data recently published by the OECD.