European Union, CABEI and KfW support Guatemalan entrepreneurial ecosystem

Guatemala, March 01, 2017. – In order to strengthen the Entrepreneurial Development Centers (CDEDS), which are essential to the Guatemalan entrepreneurial system for proper incubation and acceleration of entrepreneurial ideas, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), as the executing entity of the Initiative for Development of Business Ideas and Acceleration of Central American MSMEs (DINAMICA) signed a US$55,635.00 non-reimbursable cooperation agreement with the Guatemalan Association denominated ALTERNA.

Participants at the signing ceremony included CABEI Director for Guatemala, Emmanuel Seidner; ALTERNA legal representative, Yomara Quiroa; and CABEI Country Manager for Guatemala, Florentino Fernández.

The funds will be used for the implementation of the project, “Solidifying the structure for an innovative, deeper and longer term impact,” which seeks to strengthen the CDEDS infrastructure and improve strategic and operational capacities in order to expand and improve the offering of innovative products aimed at entrepreneurial development, especially for new and/or innovative entrepreneurs and MSMEs.

DINAMICA is a tripartite initiative executed by CABEI with support from the German KfW Development Bank as loans and development cooperation funds from the European Union as part of its Latin American Investment Facility (LAIF). The Initiative seeks to strengthen the MSME business ecosystem, especially for new, young and/or innovative MSMEs, in addition to reinforcing the financial sector at a regional level in order to promote adequate access to financial services for these MSMEs.

DINAMICA has EUR 50 million in financing from Germany and CABEI, which will be channeled through CABEI’s regional network of intermediary financial institutions. It also has non-reimbursable cooperation amounting to EUR 3.8 million from the European Union through its Latin America Investment Facility for technical assistance and training.