Máxima will be in the Philippines for UN work in the coming days. In this blog you can read more about the program and the fashion.
Two field visits are scheduled for today. Máxima speaks to a fishing community on an island about the positive impact of CARD-RBI digital financial services on their income and financial health. Fishermen are among the group of people most excluded from financial services. The islands where they live are often remote and have limited (financial) infrastructure. CARD-RBI is a bank that develops financial products for hard-to-reach and low-income groups. This includes savings, loans and insurance. The latter is done in collaboration with Pioneer Insurance.
The queen also visits a ‘sari-sari store’ in a town on the mainland. This is a small convenience store. Small-scale entrepreneurs usually do not receive a loan from a regular bank and have poor access to quickly available, low-priced products. Fintech GrowSari offers both affordable loans and well-priced inventory goods with fast delivery. In addition, through GrowSari, customers can pay bills in the store, buy airline tickets, charge their phones, etc. This promotes both growth of the store and the level of service in the area.
In the Philippines, the number of adults with at least one (bank) account has increased from 26.6 percent in 2011 to 51.4 percent in 2021 (Global Findex World Bank). Despite the increase, there are major differences nationally. The Philippines is among the group of ten countries with the highest number of adults without financial services, approximately 37.6 million. This partly has to do with geography. The country consists of more than 7,000 islands, many of which are sparsely populated and have limited access. Telecom connections are often inadequate. It is therefore difficult and unrewarding for financial institutions to offer their services. In particular, people with low incomes, small-scale businesses, small-scale farmers, fishing communities and women still have to do without safe and affordable financial services.
Fashion
When Máxima is on the road for the UN, she often wears clothes that she has already worn on a previous trip. Yesterday it was a black trouser suit, which has appeared three times before during UN work, and today it was the turn of a maxi dress from Vanessa Seward x Bloom Paris.
The dress also appeared during a UN visit to Tanzania in October 2022.
As mentioned, the dress is a design by Vanessa Seward x Bloom Paris.
The slippers are from Carrie Forbes.
Máxima’s bag was made by women from the vulnerable neighborhoods of Buenos Aires. By using their talents to make beautiful bags and selling them through the LH Handmade label, they can provide financial support to their family.
