CABEI supports reactivation of foreign trade and SME sector in Guatemala

San José, March 01, 2023.- The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) approved a US$15 million Credit Line to Banco FICOHSA Guatemala which is expected to benefit close to 40 companies and generate 480 direct jobs, contributing to business competitiveness and the economic recovery of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in Guatemala.

The resources of this new line will finance import and export activities of raw materials and inputs, primary and manufactured products, as well as capital to cover pre- and post-shipment periods, in order to facilitate the export of products and the incorporation of goods and services that contribute to the region's development.

"We are very pleased to incorporate new financial partners in Guatemala, with whom we will continue to provide resources to support foreign trade activities, a strategic sector that favors regional competitiveness and job creation for the population. With this operation, we also reaffirm our commitment to support the SME sector, which continues to recover and adapt its business structure to the new market challenges," highlighted CABEI's Executive President, Dr. Dante Mossi.

Resources will also be channeled in favor of small and medium-size entrepreneurs as part of the MSME Support Facility, a CABEI program aimed at providing liquidity to companies to defray the costs derived from commercial operations, debt rescheduling, as well as to pay salaries and obligations to suppliers, contributing to their adaptation, solvency and transformation after having been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This approval is framed within CABEI's 2020-2024 Institutional Strategy, in its Sustainable Competitiveness and Human Development strategic axes, given the mobilization of resources for the generation of income and investment towards strategic sectors of the economy.