Momentum

The Women Entrepreneurs Meeting, organized by Garanti BBVA in collaboration with KAGİDER, the Turkish Women Entrepreneurs Association, has been held virtually for the first time. The event which brought together thousands of female entrepreneurs, was attended by Turkey's Trade Minister, Ruhsar Pekcan, who came to show her support for one of the most important groups within the Turkish economy.

On September 25, 2015, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, representatives from 193 countries approved the Agenda 2030. Pivotal to the agenda, the UN defined 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets – which were announced during the signing ceremony – that address a broad range of issues, from extreme poverty to climate change, and promote both education quality and gender equality, peace or responsible consumption. To commemorate the occasion, BBVA lit up in blue (in homage to the United Nations) its flagship La Vela building in its corporate headquarters in Madrid.

Organized by Garanti BBVA, the Ekonomist magazine and the Turkish Association of Women Entrepreneurs (KAGIDER), the event marks the start of the process to present candidacies for this new edition.

Money isn’t everything; supporting communities, visibility, training, and strategic support are the key pillars of the BBVA Momentum program. This is one of the conclusions coming out of the panel, ‘BBVA Momentum: Support for Social Entrepreneurs,’ organized by The Next Web in collaboration with the Financial Times, and in which BBVA's social entrepreneurship support initiative has been featured for best practices. María Erquiaga, global head of BBVA Momentum and Arancha Martínez, founder of Itwillbe.org and participant in the 2017 Momentum program, shared an online platform to stress the growing importance of sustainability in entrepreneurial ventures and the value of social innovation with an impact.

The King and Queen of Spain held two meetings with entrepreneurs. Arancha Martínez, the founder of Itwillbe.org, and Pablo Santaeufemia, the founder of Bridge for Billions also participated in the meetings. Both participated in the 2017 edition of BBVA Momentum, BBVA’s program in support of social entrepreneurship. The meetings addressed the social and economic challenges that lie ahead, and the solutions entrepreneurs are proposing to overcome them.

BBVA Momentum, BBVA's program in support of social entrepreneurship, is proud of its participant entrepreneurs who consistently demonstrate their ability to innovate under the most difficult of circumstances. The coronavirus crisis is no exception. A number of the Momentum program's Spanish startup graduates have put the full weight of their ingenuity and resources into providing workable solutions to improve people's lives.

The BBVA Momentum 2019 closing event took place on March 3rd at the Impact hub in Madrid. It set the scene for putting a face and name to the most promising entrepreneurs of this season's Momentum program. Their business pitches highlighted the potential of their growth plans, which is already starting to materialize for many of them.

Twenty experts discussed the future of social entrepreneurship at the closing event of BBVA Momentum’s most international year yet. The event in Madrid brought together entrepreneurs from Mexico, Colombia, the United States, and Turkey. BBVA Momentum 2019 closed its most recent edition with an event where participating social entrepreneurs showcased their projects and sustainability played a central role.

In just a few short days the closing event for BBVA Momentum 2019 will take place. International experts in social entrepreneurship will join the best of the best of this year's pool of entrepreneurs at the celebration. The three most promising social ventures from this year's Turkish Momentum program will travel to Madrid to present their business models.

Over 20 leading international and national experts and the most promising social entrepreneurs of BBVA Momentum 2019 edition will meet in Madrid for the global event bringing the edition to a close. Those attending this event will have a unique opportunity to expand their knowledge and professional network with the best ecosystem for social entrepreneurship.

The 2019 edition of BBVA Momentum in Mexico has accelerated the growth of 100 social enterprises. The three companies that stood out for their potential growth and innovation will go to Madrid on March 3rd to participate in the global event ending this 2019 edition.

The three 2019 BBVA Momentum winning social enterprises in the United States will attend the global event marking the close of this iteration of the program (to be held in Madrid on March 3rd) where they will share the full force of their business models. The three companies will participate in the premier social entrepreneurial event showcasing their initiatives, which seek to foster diversity, education, and access to healthcare in the communities they serve.

BBVA Momentum ends its 2019 program with the celebration of a global event in Madrid. International players in the sector and the three most promising entrepreneurs from each participating country will attend the event. The event will close the most ambitious year for the program, which accelerated the growth of 169 social businesses from Colombia, the United States, Mexico, and Turkey.

BBVA Momentum will hold its 2019 global closing event on March 3, 2020. This year, the BBVA program in support of social entrepreneurship has broken its own record by accelerating the growth of 169 companies from the United States, Turkey, Mexico, and Colombia.

The European Commission defines microenterprise as a business that employs fewer than ten people and whose annual turnover does not exceed €2 million. BBVA Momentum, the BBVA program that supports social entrepreneurship, works with companies such as these, which are distinguished by an enthusiasm to grow in order to increase their positive impact.

"Impact investing has made traction and is now fundamental to addressing the significant objectives related to sustainability. At a time like now, when all of us are experiencing the impact of the climate emergency, this type of asset is all the more relevant. It is undeniable: sustainability requires impact investing.” Lidia del Pozo, BBVA's Director of Community Investment Programs, said these words at the European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA)’s 15th annual conference in The Hague.

World Usability Day is celebrated on the second Thursday of November. The goal of the day is to emphasize the importance of designing products that are simple to use and make life easier for everyone. BBVA Momentum, BBVA’s program to support social entrepreneurship, promotes companies that espouse inclusive design, ensuring no one is left out.

It’s a wrap for the third edition of BBVA Momentum with Gifts for Good taking home the first place $100,000 prize for their work in corporate gifting with a social impact.

The image of the traditional billionaire, surrounded by luxury and oblivious to what is happening on the planet, is beginning to be a thing of the past. Some of the largest global fortunes have discovered impact investing and social entrepreneurship and are using these opportunities to take action and leave a positive mark on the world.

A poll by the international coworking and entrepreneurship network Impact Hub, which was conducted among the 16,500 professionals who work in its spaces, revealed what social entrepreneurs value the most when it comes to working with a community and how it helps them to promote their businesses.

Social entrepreneurship competitions are platforms that can give a leg up to entrepreneurs with a business idea and the hunger to grow. Of the competitions taking place in the upcoming months, there are some that are internationally renowned, standing out thanks to the prestige they have accrued over the years.

They attend school, help their families, work, take care of their elders… Girls are an active part of society, but most are discriminated against due to their gender, and this inequality puts them at a disadvantage. October 11 has been marked as the International Day of the Girl to remind us all that, to build a better future, it is essential to support the development of girls and young women across the globe.

Social entrepreneurship is known for addressing society’s most pressing problems. The migratory crisis is one of them, forcing millions of people to go to countries where they face an uncertain future. Social enterprises are working hard to support them, offer them the opportunities they need and portray a different - unprejudiced - image of refugees.

As sustainable fashion moves closer to the mainstream, it is starting to be recognized as an efficient way of curbing the impact of one of the planet’s most polluting industries. The industry’s social enterprises cool eco-friendly designs are winning the hearts and pockets of consumers.

Group-dynamic games are techniques used to improve coordination levels within a team, as well as to build its members’ problem solving and decision making skills.

World Car-free Day is held on September 22 to raise awareness about the environmental impact of large-scale car use. BBVA Momentum, the bank’s program that supports social entrepreneurship, has backed businesses that are working for sustainable, more environmentally friendly transportation.

Now that the school year is about to begin, it’s a great time to catch up on the most relevant events for entrepreneurs coming up for the remainder of the year. All these events aim to spread knowledge, catch on the latest developments in the industry, do some networking, and explore new ways to innovate and grow. These are some of the most noteworthy.

BBVA Momentum, the BBVA program that supports social entrepreneurship, is entering its second half. September kicks-off with new training sessions for the selected social enterprises from participating countries: Colombia, the United States, Mexico, and Turkey. In a short couple of months, the most ambitious round of BBVA Momentum to date – with a record-breaking 169 participating social enterprises – will draw to a close.

'Design thinking' is a methodology that develops creativity and promotes innovation to solve problems and meet people's needs in a viable way. Its influence has reached social enterprises who use it to improve their results and increase their impact.

Experts agree that workplace diversity translates into significant benefits for businesses. Decision making, return on investment, entry into new markets, and innovation all improve when minorities are represented in a company’s workforce.