CAF and CVM join forces to promote financial inclusion of indigenous peoples

CAF and CVM (Securities and Exchange Commission) signed a technical cooperation agreement with the objective of developing an inclusive, culturally relevant and replicable methodology for financial education and digital literacy for indigenous populations in Brazil. The initiative will be based on the experience carried out with the Jarakí community, located in Vila do Lago de Praia, Pará, which has developed educational material on the subject.  

“This agreement will allow us not only to strengthen our mandate as a green bank for sustainable and inclusive growth in Latin America and the Caribbean, but also to promote ethnic-territorial development and, in the future, to have the opportunity to replicate this initiative not only in Brazil, but throughout the region,” said Estefanía Laterza, CAF's representative in the country. 

“Many indigenous communities are not yet fully integrated into the economy and are entrepreneurs by necessity. Financial education and entrepreneurship training are important, because when their businesses have difficulty accessing capital, this can put them on the margins compared to non-indigenous people. Developing financial education materials that adhere to the reality of indigenous populations will help them develop economically, while preserving their roots and cultures,” said Nathalie Vidual, Superintendent of Investor Protection and Orientation (SOI) at CVM. said Nathalie Vidual, Superintendent of Investor Protection and Orientation (SOI) at CVM.  

The partnership, which will start in the first quarter of 2024, foresees the development of the methodology of teaching material for financial education in indigenous schools, including teacher training, teaching material for indigenous digital literacy, including material for the training of multipliers, as well as the monitoring of project implementation and performance indicators (quantitative and qualitative) and the impact of the initiative. 

For Veronica Guajan, CAF's indigenous affairs specialist, “promoting the financial inclusion of indigenous communities through training and capacity-building programs in a regional context that is increasingly demanding new skills in digital and technological tools is key. The bet is that this group will not be excluded again and will be able to boost their economic, cultural and traditional initiatives, as well as preserving their knowledge and collective dynamics, thus avoiding migration from their own territories.”   

According to Paulo Portinho, CVM's Education and Financial Inclusion Manager, the pilot project at the indigenous school in Lago da Praia Village involved 4 teachers and around 70 elementary school students. So far, the indigenous teachers have reviewed the Financial Education in Schools material, applied an OECD questionnaire to map financial knowledge and behavior, received computers in the village, set up a computer lab, installed a solar panel and are working on a financial education booklet for the 4th grade.