Dávila Álvaro
Organization: Fundación Social
Year Founded: 1911
Country: Colombia
Website: www.fundacion-social.com.co
Video1 Video 2 (Spanish) Through its highly successful companies, Fundación Social works to better the livelihoods of low-income households by making investments aimed at removing the structural causes of poverty in Colombia. Focus: Enterprise Development, Financial Inclusion, Homelessness and Housing Geographic Area of Impact: Colombia Model: Social Business Recognition: Social Entrepreneur of the Year, Colombia, 2007 Background Over 60% of Colombia’s population lives below the poverty line. Income inequality is one of the highest in Latin America, while violence remains a chronic phenomenon, which exacerbates social conditions. From the moment José María Campoamor, a Jesuit priest, arrived in Colombia from Spain in the early 1900s, he mobilized thousands of poor workers to set aside small amounts of money in savings banks, agreeing to contribute the interest generated to education, nutrition, housing and other basic needs underpinning personal and collective progress. The “savings banks” and “workers’ circles” that he set up later evolved into the Fundación Social. Fundación Social is based on two principles: workers as the primary actors of their own development, and to spur that development, the need to cultivate their “virtue to save”. Innovation and Activities The mission of the Fundación Social is to help overcome the structural causes of poverty in Colombia by building a more humane, prosperous and just society. The way to accomplish its mission is by owning and managing profitable business enterprises to benefit the poor. Today, Fundación Social has 12 highly successful for-profit companies, which focus on banking, insurance and housing. It is also the major shareholder in Banco Caja Social Colombiana (BCSC), a leader in financial services and mortgages for low-income sectors, and its accompanying networks Banco Caja Social BCSC and Colmena (insurance), and Deco Construcciones (low-income housing construction). BCSC offers a range of financial services with an emphasis on savings, investment and credit. The main obstacle BCSC has confronted in Colombia is the low use of banking services due to lack of trust in the banking sector. Thus, its biggest challenge is to expand the acceptability of its services to the poorest populations and businesses. To promote the use of the banking system, BCSC has created a series of financial incentives for those who begin to save on a consistent basis, an incentive that has increased by 9% the number of clients in the last 2 years. Fundación Social develops its activities through two main areas. One focuses on creating the conditions whereby civil society and business organizations in poor communities can emerge and thrive. Fundación Social provides skill-building activities and leadership training to very poor communities as a first step, and subsequently connecting their enterprises to the formal economy. The second area is responsible for the functioning of Fundación Social’s 12 businesses, and creating others as needed. The organization seeks to be a market leader in financial services for the poor in Colombia as well as to significantly influence solutions to social problems, emphasizing housing and microfinance. Fundación Social today is the 5th largest private financial group in the country with about 6% of the banking market. It has 5 million poor clients who benefit from services at its 320 offices in 56 Colombian cities. The Entrepreneur José María Campoamor conceived the underpinnings of what today is Fundación Social. His genius lies in having sown the seed that for almost 100 years has been able to grow and evolve into a continuously pioneering social enterprise. By 1943, Campoamor’s workers’ circles and savings banks had spread and been consolidated in the country’s major cities. Campoamor died in 1946. While the venture was conceived by a visionary pragmatist, the adherence to its mission has never waivered thanks to the contribution of other similar entrepreneurs who followed the priest’s footsteps. Among them is Alvaro Dávila, who has been president of Fundación Social since 1986.
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