Driving Financial Inclusion

Ficohsa's sustainability strategy also is focused on financial inclusion, which ultimately helps to reduce poverty. We want to widen access to banking services for more people and disadvantaged sectors, and create products and services customized to serve their financial needs. An example of this is our bolstered SME business model, where we provide a service that fosters the stability and competitiveness of these companies.

To achieve financial inclusion, we need to promote financial education to teach customers and non-customers the correct use of our products, and help them to improve their personal and business finances. At Banco Ficohsa, we have various financial education programs, training for young adults and children, bulletins and a website, among other resources. These make it possible for us to be agents of change by boosting the productive sector, generating more jobs, and improving our economies and societies.

In 2016, we re-launched our financial education website regionally, making it more interactive. This increased site visits by 52% compared with 2015.

Women account for 40% of Honduras’ workforce and a similar percentage across Central America. Ficohsa has taken several steps to support women in the workplace and improve their financial inclusion. In November 2016, for instance, Ficohsa and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) signed an agreement for the implementation of banking initiatives for women in Central America. The goal is to offer specialized products and services to women, while also advising them in the management of SMEs.

As an active member of the Global Banking Alliance for Women (GBA), a consortium of financial institutions that seeks to create economic well-being for women around the world, Ficohsa has access to a global clearinghouse for best practices and a unique platform for peer learning that makes resources available to serve women customers well by offering specialized customer attention and services. Altogether, this helps to empower women so they can overcome the barriers of financial inclusion.

Ficohsa is an active supporter in Honduras of Vital Voices, an organization that aims to train and empower women leaders.