CABEI provides US$40 million to continue supporting the financial needs of Guatemalan SMEs
Since 2020, the Bank has disbursed US$77 million in Guatemala to provide working capital to the business sector affected by COVID-19.
Guatemala City, July 29th, 2022 - Reaffirming its commitment to provide effective and timely financial services to the region, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) disbursed US$40 million to Banco Industrial in Guatemala to be channeled to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 200 employees, as well as to promote their economic reactivation after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The resources may be used, among other purposes to be evaluated by the financial institution, to pay suppliers, discount invoices, implement biosafety protocols and consolidate debts.
CABEI's Executive President, Dr. Dante Mossi, highlighted that "since the beginning of the pandemic, the bank quickly made this financial product available to the region, complemented with a partial guarantee, which allowed thousands of small businesses to continue operating. Today we continue to inject our own resources into this facility, but we are also adding support from strategic international allies.”
The disbursement comes from the MSME Support Facility, a program promoted by CABEI since 2020, which, through its financial intermediaries network, has channeled US$77 million in Guatemala, providing credit on favorable terms to more than 2,200 MSMEs and protecting the employment of 8,500 people.
Banco Industrial has been one of CABEI's allied intermediary financial institutions since 1971 and, since then, it has mediated CABEI programs to meet the financial needs of key business sectors in Guatemala.
