Mexican Bank Investing In Social Innovation for Mexico's Growth

Banorte-Ixe, a major bank in Mexico, is committed to social innovation and sustainable development in this country, and has been working since 2011 to promote initiatives that will help to strengthen impact investment. This is a new form of investment, which provides capital to businesses aimed at creating social and/or environmental benefits, including financial returns. Banorte-Ixe has also recently launched a loan product with preferential rates for Small to Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) whose business is focused on cultural activities.

Banorte is committed to its 'green policies' and sponsored The Green Pitch event in Nuevo León, which was organised by New Ventures Mexico. It brought together 130 main representatives of the Latin America impact investment community to connect the leading regional SMEs that generate a positive environmental and/or social innovation impact, with leading investors. The conference gave each SME the opportunity to pitch to investors, showing how innovative their business concept is along with its environmental and/or social impact. Nuevo León is recognized as Mexico's business summit, where more than 1,800 foreign companies are established here.

Banorte-Ixe believes that these types of activities that seek to expand the opportunities of SMEs with environmental and/or social purposes are key and will benefit Mexican society. This bank recognises that these type of 'green social innovation businesses' are vital to the country's economic growth and will help to strengthen the investment sector in Mexico to make it stronger.

One Mexican company already acknowledged by Forbes in 2011 for its 'genuinely green commitment' is Cemex, a cement company and the world's largest building supply manufacturer. It has long been recognised for its high-tech management practices; the company's headquarters in Monterrey has been described as looking more like a NASA control room than a typical corporate campus. Cemex has integrated environmental management and control procedures into its manufacturing process, and has published more than a dozen books on climate change, conservation and offers the public extensive disclosure of its pollution and CO2 emissions levels.

Mexico is three times the size of the state of Texas in the U.S. with a population of almost 88 million. Its ethnic composition is 60 percent mestizo (a mixture of Indian and European), 30 percent Amerindian, 9 percent white and 1 percent other. Mexico is a federal republic and while Spanish is the official language, over 100 Indian languages are also spoken. Crucially, it is one of the U.S.'s most important trade partners and is also America's third largest exporter. Currently, its international trade products include oil exports, tourism and the products of its many assembly plants. Now Banorte-Ixe wants to help Mexico step up a gear and help spark excitement in the country's ecosystem around sustainable business, plus support the local entrepreneurs! This bank recognises that this nation's 'green business acceleration' has big potential.

Photo Credit: On Our Own Path