The SGB Sector in 2017

2017 Trends in Guatemala and Mexico

In recent meetings in Guatemala and Mexico, ANDE members discussed the progress made in 2017 on gender inclusion, financial literacy, and talent in their respective countries:

1. In Mexico, members aim to understand the nuances of gender inclusive initiatives, while Guatemalan members struggle to get SGB investors on board. According to the Cherie Blair Foundation, if full gender parity were achieved on different economic indicators, GDP in Mexico would increase by 43 percent by 2025. [39] With this understanding in mind, many organizations are interested in filling the gender gap in Mexico. The key to their success will be truly using a gender lens and measuring the effectiveness of gender inclusive investments and interventions. In Guatemala, SGB investors are dragging their feet on gender lens investing, even though it has become prominent in the microfinance sector.
2. Despite an increase in the availability of financial products and services, financial inclusion remains a challenge in both Guatemala and Mexico. Recent research by the World Bank on the financial services market in Guatemala found a lack of transparency, unfair practices, and weak redress mechanisms for consumers [24]. The World Bank also found that almost half of Mexicans do not report any current use of formal or informal financial services, and there is a high level of usage of sources of informal credit and saving [20]. In this context, ANDE members find there is a need to design user-centric financial products and services and reconsider the infrastructure available for accessing and utilizing them.
3. Guatemalan and Mexican universities strive to address the talent gap. Gallup defines a “good job” as 30 or more hours of work per week for an employer who provides a regular paycheck. [21] In Mexico, only 26 percent of people report having a good job, and only 19 percent of Guatemalans report having a good job. [21] The pressure to work for an established corporation over an SGB makes recruiting and retaining talent a challenge for SGBs in these countries. However, as Mexican universities are increasingly incorporating entrepreneurship and innovation into their curriculum, a natural extension is that talented youth are more likely to work for an SGB than their predecessors. Unfortunately, while some private Guatemalan universities have made the curriculum shift toward entrepreneurship, the higher education system remains centralized and inaccessible to most Guatemalans.