"True development puts first those
that society puts last" *
CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE
We have recently experienced a period of economic growth of unprecedented scope and duration. Human development over the past century has progressed more than at any other time in history, yet inequalities have not been reduced, quite the contrary.
The state of poverty is even less encouraging, as it increases substantially each year. Today, around 4 billion people are living with insufficient resources to lead what is considered to be a dignified life.
These appalling figures indicate that poverty remains a colossal challenge, aggravated by a crucial barrier that makes it hard to overcome: the enormous difficulty or impossibility people without economic resources face to access the financial system.
The BBVA Microfinance Foundation was set up in 2007 to promote the financial inclusion of those people with lower incomes in order to exert a positive influence on their living conditions, especially on household finance.
Hence, the Foundation promotes the growth and development of the microfinance sector by developing and supporting specialized institutions; a pioneering and innovative approach that stems from the combination of forces: on the one hand, the specific knowledge and field proximity of specialized local institutions and, on the other, the experience, financial soundness, access to technology and coaching that informs our membership of a vast network of microfinance institutions.
A network that provides institutions with access to economies of scale and of sufficient scope to render them highly competitive and, furthermore, which in itself constitutes an exciting ethical business project: a group of institutions brought together by a coherent and robust system of integrity and responsibility, driven by the common goal of delivering microfinance to those in greatest need.
This is the guiding principle of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation, whereby millions of people will be able to work productively to increase their income and improve their own and their families’ standard of living.
At the BBVA Microfinance Foundation, we are dedicating our wholehearted enthusiasm and fullest efforts to addressing this exciting challenge.
Manuel Méndez del Río Piovich
Chairman of BBVA Microfinance Foundation
* Mahatma Gandhi