Pro Mujer Inc.

07/18/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/18/2024 22:25

Pro Mujer leads one of the six initiatives in Latin America to boost the economy of older adult women

Pro Mujer leads one of the six initiatives in Latin America to boost the economy of older adult women

The 'Mujeres Plateadas' initiative by Pro Mujer was chosen as one of the six from Latin America, and the only one in Bolivia, that will be funded and supported by the "Soluciones Plateadas" ("Silver Solutions") program, led by German Sparkassenstiftung for Latin America and the Caribbean along with the innovation lab of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB-LAB), with which they aim to enhance solutions designed to meet the specific financial needs of older adult women in Latin America.

With these programs, around 300,000 people between 60 and 70 years old in the region are expected to benefit through programs focused on reducing the digital divide and adapting financial services to improve and expand the inclusion of adults over 60 years old, as well as awareness and educational programs on financial practices designed especially for this segment of the population.

In total, the institutions chose six proposals out of 114 applicants from 19 countries, among fintech companies, specialized organizations, startups, and financial institutions from across the region.

With a total budget of 129 thousand USD, the project that Pro Mujer will develop will impact a thousand women, empowering them to access and use financial services from savings accounts and digital bankingwith support in digital and financial literacy.

As a priority for Pro Mujer, the project is structured in five phases aimed at offering a holistic and comprehensive service to the 1,000 women who are its target population in Bolivia, and who are part of the Fundación Pro Mujer IFD as well as other identified social organizations, such as the Casa del Adulto Mayor and the Universidad del Adulto Mayor. The phases are:

  • Carry out a study on the archetype of the female older adult client of Pro Mujer to understand the characteristics, needs, motivations, and frustrations of this population.
  • Strengthen the savings accounts and digital banking of Pro Mujer with an inclusive design for the elderly population.
  • Establish the payment process for renta Dignidad y de jubilación (Dignity rent and retirement) at Pro Mujer.
  • Provide digital and financial literacy for older adults with personalization and assistance.
  • Provide technical advice for the silver-plated ventures.


"In Bolivia and Latin America, there are few financial inclusion entities or projects that base their work on a holistic or comprehensive model." This means that financial inclusion must be seen as a challenge that goes beyond the granting of credit," explains Marcelo Mallea, general manager of Pro Mujer in Bolivia.

"There are few initiatives that conceive of credit loans as a means to generate conditions where women exercise their rights to equality and opportunities," adds Cecilia Gumucio, Operations Manager of Pro Mujer in the same country.

Why the Silver Economy?

The world is aging rapidly, and Latin America and the Caribbean even more so. In this region, according to UN estimates, people over 65 years old will increase from 9% to 19% of the population by 2050, and by 2090 this will be the region with the highest percentage of adults over 60 years old in the world, with more than 36% (BID).

As a result, changes will come in consumer habits and in sectors such as housing, urban infrastructure, health care services, entertainment, etc. All of this represents new economic opportunities, but it also highlights the urgency for Latin America to begin planning to integrate what the Silver Economy proposes, that part of the global economy whose focus is on the needs and demands of older adults, into all its systems, including financial.

It is estimated that of the total consumption growth in cities in Northeast Asia and Western Europe between 2015 and 2030, almost 60% will come from adults over 60 years old. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the same figure is 30%, and projections show that it will increase (BID).

With this high percentage of consumption growth and therefore of economic movement, focused on an age group, it is essential that the financial products and services available to these people move in parallel.

So far, access to credit is a challenge for the elderly population, as there are no policies in financial institutions, there are few guarantees for loans, there is a growing migration of financial institutions to digital platforms (often unfriendly to older adults), and as people age, they become less financially solvent, especially those who have always lived in precarious conditions.

The importance of gender lens investing comes to light here.

Today, in Latin America and the Caribbean, there are 8 million more women than men over 60 years of age, a gender difference that expands as older populations are considered, among adults over 80 years old, 62% are women (BID).

And not only that. Within the phenomenon of the "feminization" of aging (which begins with the fact that women, on average, live five years longer than men), the implications for equality between socioeconomic classes and between generations must also be taken into account, as well as the inequitable distribution of caregiving responsibilities that mainly falls on women.

For this reason, the Silver Economy has become one of Pro Mujer's objectives in Bolivia, a country where 70% of the 122 thousand people served annually are women. In its more than 30 years, the organization has adapted services and products with a gender perspective, based on the exercising of rights, attention to the needs of women of different age groups, and addressing their challenges.

With the 'Mujeres Plateadas' project, we reaffirm our commitment to gender equality and the quality of life of women throughout the region.

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