CABEI and KfW Sign US$100.0 Million Loan Agreement to Boost Economic Recovery in Central America

15/10/2020

The German Financial Cooperation, through KfW, has channeled financial resources of US$855.0 million in projects aimed at the sustainable development of the region.

Tegucigalpa, October 15, 2020. –.-El Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the German Financial Cooperation, through KfW, signed a US$100.0 million loan agreement to finance eligible public and private sector operations in the Republics of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama under the Program for Emergency Support and Preparedness for COVID-19 and Economic Reactivation approved by CABEI on March 31, 2020.

The resources will allow CABEI to promote programs to address the different phases of the health crisis and the interruption of commercial and productive activities, as well as to mitigate the effects of the Pandemic on the most vulnerable populations and contribute to the reactivation of their economies, in addition to financing MIPYME's working and investment capital needs.

MIPYMEs in the following sectors are eligible: food chain production, renewable energy, energy efficiency, cleaner production, hotels and tourism, construction, creative industry, media, trade, and service provision companies.

Two operations have been identified that may be partially financed with these resources: 1). The Program for Economic Reactivation through MIPYME in the COVID-19 Crisis and Post-Crisis in the Republic of Honduras, which consists of providing financial resources to MIPYME to sustain jobs and economic reactivation, as well as the creation of a guarantee fund to facilitate access to these credits; 2). The project "Financing of measures implemented by the COVID-19 emergency" in the Republic of El Salvador, which will allow the granting of the monetary compensation bonus to people without an employment relationship or any permanent income and who have been affected by the pandemic.

CABEI's Executive President, Dr. Dante Mossi, highlighted and thanked the German financial cooperation, through KfW, not only for its support during the pandemic, but since 2002, by channeling financial resources for an aggregate amount of US$855.0 million for projects aimed at the sustainable development of the Central American region.

Claudia Arce, KfW's Director for Latin America, and the Caribbean, said, "We continue to work closely with CABEI to design and implement high quality projects that contribute to the region's development.”

Likewise, Ulrike Metzger, Head of the Regional Development Policy Department, Central America and the Caribbean of the Economic Cooperation and Development Federal Ministry (BMZ), assured that the German Government continues to be committed to sustainable economic development through the promotion of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, which are complemented by CABEI's mandate to contribute to the balanced economic and social development of its member countries, as a response to the needs defined by the region's governments.

This contract signing reaffirms CABEI's and the German Financial Cooperation's interest and commitment, through KfW, to continue developing joint actions that will allow Central American countries to face the challenges of climate change and contribute to the post-COVID-19 economic reactivation.


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