Sharing value: economic inclusion depends on institutional choices
Social
The Brazilian experience provides a relevant counterpoint to this view. In a country characterised by historical inequalities and significant regional disparities, it has become clear that sustainable poverty reduction requires more than one-off transfers. It requires an economic infrastructure capable of linking public policies, the market and individuals on a large scale.
CAIXA, an institution at the crossroads between the public and private sectors
This is where institutions play a vital role. And in Brazil, CAIXA occupies a unique position in this context. Not only because it is one of the largest retail banks, but also because it acts simultaneously as a financial institution offering a full range of products, from productive microcredit to mortgage lending – an area in which it is the sector leader with a 67.7 per cent market share – whilst also being the main driver of the government’s public policies and serving as a platform for financial and economic inclusion. This combination proves decisive when the aim is to translate rights into real access.
The provision of support to millions of Brazilians is not merely an emergency response by the government to specific situations, but demonstrates that the pursuit of inclusion through public policies and institutions with operational capacity, a local presence and digital integration is a prerequisite for any large-scale social protection strategy.
From access to banking services to financial independence
Having a bank account is necessary, but not sufficient. The real turning point comes when access turns into economic capacity: when people start to save, invest, set up their own businesses and build up their wealth.
This is where productive microcredit plays a central – yet controversial – role. Often, granting credit to the most vulnerable is synonymous with indebtedness, but the Brazilian experience shows that the problem lies not in the credit itself, but in its purpose, its suitability and its integration into public policies. When it is geared towards income generation, supported and integrated into local production networks, it ceases to be a form of financial handout and becomes a tool for economic self-reliance.
At CAIXA, microcredit is aimed at urban and rural entrepreneurs, thereby contributing to the expansion of production capacity, job creation and income generation across the country. By granting loans at affordable interest rates, CAIXA achieved an outstanding balance of 1.0 billion reais in this segment in 2025, benefiting 40,000 individuals and 3,000 businesses.
Interrelated policies for inclusive growth
We cannot separate these aspects. Income transfers, financial inclusion, productive credit and access to housing are not in competition with one another. They are interdependent. When coordinated, they enhance the effectiveness of public policies and reduce the need for ongoing interventions.
This system requires something that neither the market nor the state, acting alone, can provide: sufficient scale, continuity and a presence on the ground. Institutions with a national network cease to be mere financial intermediaries and now act as an economic infrastructure, connecting people, regions and opportunities.
In this sense, value sharing is not limited to the redistribution of profits, but aims to reduce barriers to entry. It is not a question of choosing between efficiency and inclusion, but of recognising that more inclusive economies are, in the medium and long term, more stable and more productive.
Conclusion: value sharing an institutional choice
The Brazilian experience shows that, without institutions capable of implementing public policies on a large scale, the promise of inclusive growth risks remaining mere rhetoric.
Value-sharing is an institutional and strategic choice that takes the form of capacity-building, the removal of barriers and the integration of millions of people into the economic process. This programme can only be sustained when intention is translated into public policy, when presence translates into access, and when action generates a real impact.
It is at this stage that CAIXA assumes and fulfils its historic role: turning choices into opportunities, policies into citizenship, and development into tangible results in people’s daily lives, thereby fulfilling its mission to transform people’s lives.