BBVA Compass has put its innovative design thinking methodology to work, solving a real-world problem outside its own four walls. Using a common refrain among those who provide response and relief to disasters: all disasters are local. But the increase in the incidence of natural disasters worldwide since the 1970s has made it increasingly difficult for local communities to handle disaster response on their own.

In an imperfect world, new technologies offer an opportunity to make certain improvements that benefit society. Blockchain, the driver of the new tech revolution, promises to help in solving key data traceability and transparency issues.

Fair-trade coffee, quality guarantee, ecological tomatoes… consumers read the labels on the things they eat. But is there any way of checking that what they say is correct? In order to do so, you would need a register of the processes to which the product has been submitted, something blockchain can do.

Sustainable Development is essential to achieving more peaceful and just societies and the United Nations counts on the private sector to help in this effort. The BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF) has contributed its experience in the finance sector to the report entitled “Business and SDG 16: contributing to peaceful, just and inclusive societies,” drawn up by the Sustainable Development Goals Fund and the University of Pennsylvania.

In the month since Harvey hit Houston, BBVA Compass has published a series of articles to help its customers and the public at large understand the city’s new reality, how to move forward, and how the bank will be there to provide support.

BBVA Executive Chairman Francisco González has reinforced the Group’s commitment to the U.S. after the most recent natural disasters. “We’re going to redouble our commitment to those affected through a number of actions,” he explained. In Houston, where he met with the city’s mayor, Sylvester Turner, he gave a message of solidarity on behalf of the entire BBVA Group. Francisco González also announced that he is going to visit Mexico City in the coming days to see first-hand the damages caused by the Sept. 19 earthquake.

Climate change is one of the greatest problems facing humanity. Abrupt temperature changes, famine, disease and floods are all evidence that changes in the climate are not a myth. The consequences could get worse if we do not manage to reduce the greenhouse effect, as Matthew Liao warns in his book The Next Step: Exponential Life. It can be downloaded at no charge  on BBVA’s website for the OpenMind project.

Dozens of families in one of the areas where the country’s digital divide is the widest will be getting free internet access thanks in part to BBVA Compass’ steadfast commitment to using the power of digital to create opportunities in its communities.

Twenty social entrepreneurs from Texas who have channeled their passions into solving an array of society’s issues were selected to join the inaugural U.S. class of BBVA Momentum, an intensive seven-month training program for those who want to change the world through their work.

The Internet of Things is today a reality. Apart from the benefits it can provide to companies, the IoT will become a powerful tool in the fight for citizen security, given its many possible uses.

If Fernando Álvarez of BBVA Francés, Argentina, has an abundance of anything, it is drive and patience. Even so, three years after his first failure, it was hard for him to give it another go. Then a coworker and two children convinced him to never give up.

After a years of steep deterioration, Uruguay has managed to partially recover some of the ground lost after a historic fall in productivity.  Despite this, a person working in Uruguay today reaches an average productivity slightly above 40% of the level they would achieve working in an advanced economy.  How is this possible?  What can be done?  This paper sets out a potential explanation and suggests a line of action for further progress.

“Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas”. This is one of the most famous quotes from renowned scientist Marie Curie. IT was, precisely, her interest in the world that led her to become the first woman to ever win a Nobel prize, at a time when women were rarely allowed to pursue University studies, at least in Poland.

Nobody wants to go into a care home. Based on this premise, Saraiva Senior, a project by Sacendi (a social and healthcare company that provides integrated services for the elderly in Pontevedra), aims to implement a new approach to care for the elderly. The company, a participant in BBVA Momentum, BBVA’s support program aimed at social enterprises, is determined to change mindsets, promote a positive vision of aging and renew the traditional concept of the care home. The director of this social enterprise, Lucía Saborido, its associate director, Noelia López and its technical director, Ricardo Fra Otero, explain how.

Many of the Momentum companies have focused on making life easier for others through technological solutions. Their ideas are overcoming obstacles and giving new meaning to the lives of thousands of people.

Momentum, BBVA’s program in support of social entrepreneurship, is today a benchmark in the sector. Since its first edition in 2011, it has driven the expansion process of 56 companies with high social impact in Spain, 30 in Mexico and six in Peru. Many of them have succeeded in making a niche for themselves in the market thanks to their pioneering products or new approaches to business.

Everyone should have access to basic financial services by 2020. This goal, set by the World Bank, aims to combat the financial exclusion that impacts two billion people. Several organizations from the public and private sector, including BBVA Microfinance Foundation, have signed the Universal Financial Access 2020 (UFA), committing to meet this deadline.

Having a bank account is the first step to access basic financial services, such as loans or insurance, which help underprivileged families to receive essential services like water, electricity, housing, education or healthcare. It also allows small and medium sized businesses to grow, expand operations and improve risk management.

“It is really moving to see this type of initiatives and how a Foundation like ours can do so much in favor of society. These people have access to loan facilities, but they manage to move forward thanks to their own efforts and will to fight. Their work is spectacular and we are already seeing progress in future generations; their kids and grandchildren go to school and many even make it to college. For me, it has been an incredible visit,” said Francisco González during his visit to some of the projects supported by the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF) in Soacha, a city just outside of Bogota (Colombia).

Javier M. Flores, CEO of the BBVA Microfinance Foundation, renewed the foundation’s commitment with the Sustainable Development Goals Fund until 2019. During the session held at the headquarters of United Nations, the SDG Fund also presented the report “Universality and the SDGs: A Business Perspective”. This publication examines some of the key issues facing companies when incorporating and implementing the SDGs within their core strategy.

No one is poor, even though 836 million people are extremely poor, and are sick from poverty, hungry from poverty, unequal from poverty and silenced by poverty, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Millenials have become the true engine of Latin America’s society. Not only in economic terms, but also in political and social aspects. They have witnessed the comeback of one of the most powerful regions in the world, and have been granted access to far greater technological resources than they would’ve ever imagined.

Renewable energies are not only an investment opportunity, a response to the planet’s urgent need for sustainability and a change that will improve our lives –they can also rescue remote populations from their isolation and help ease their problems. Microgrids are making giant strides in every corner of the world, combining goals and mobilizing interests.

Since 2010, more than 10,000 Toyota Corolla cars have been stolen in the U.S. This car tops the list of the 25 most stolen cars in the U.S., together with the Nissan Altima and the Toyota Camry.

In July, five countries in the Americas celebrate their declaration of independence: the U.S., Venezuela, Argentina, Colombia and Peru. All of these countries benefited from the French Illustration and subsequently by the U.S. independence and the French Revolution.

The Americas receive more tourists than anywhere else in the world. Nearly 191 million people decided to travel to there last year, according the World Tourism Organization. This represented a 5% increase in international tourism, mainly boosted by the appreciation of the dollar. But before you head for the Americas, it’s important to keep in mind a few health tips.

The presentation ceremony of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards again transformed Madrid headquarters of the BBVA Foundation, into a window from which to contemplate some of the key ideas, insights and challenges that define the modern age.

If a person’s tweets reflect their interests, there can be little doubt as to what makes Martin Ravallion tick. His account directs followers to articles on the exodus of Syria’s refugees; the importance of the world’s poorest having access to information; campaigns to tackle child malnutrition. Ravallion, an economist, is aware that his vision of economic science “is not shared by the majority.” And he quotes historian Max Hartwell: “Economics is, in essence, the study of poverty.”

Qasanqay is a small village 3,800 meters above sea level in the heart of the Andes, in Ayacucho. The country’s Independence was signed in this Peruvian region in 1826; this is also where Sendero Luminoso originated, the terrorist group that triggered the savage violence in the 1980s against the poorest population and law enforcement agencies. Over 69,000 Peruvians died.

Leka is an intelligent toy that has been developed to stimulate these types of individuals to learn, have fun and progress.

Australian economist Martin Ravallion has been distinguished with the BBVA Foundation’s Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Development Cooperation for revolutionizing the fight against poverty by creating reliable indicators to measure it. In 1991 he established at one dollar a day the minimum amount that a person needs to survive, which helped establish for the first time specific goals to eliminate extreme poverty globally. After the latest update, the international poverty line is set at US$1.90 a day.

According to the Global Findex (2014) report, only 15% of adults worldwide use electronic money, and a lot of them live in developing countries.

To a large extent, 3D printing has become more than just a trend thanks to healthcare. 3D makes it possible to create hearts, arms, hands, ears… all tailor-made. And it reduces costs.

The Colombian Laura Parra, the winner of the Innovators Under 35 award in 2013, organized by MIT Technology Review in its Spanish edition in partnership with BBVA, has developed a video game that helps children with mobility problems in their rehabilitation therapy.

A company will pay up to $10 (around 8 euros) for access to your social network accounts, credit card transaction records, and other personal information, and will sell insights gleaned from that data to companies looking for information on consumer behavior.

Love and sex in the era of social networks and mobile communications.