Salvadoran NBFIs will be Trained With CABEI Financing

San Salvador.- The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) signed a technical cooperation agreement with the Microfinance Advisory and Training Foundation (FUNDAMICRO1). The signing ceremony held in the Salvadoran capital was attended by Mr. Raúl Castaneda, Manager of the CABEI Regional Office in El Salvador, and FUNDAMICRO President Mr. José Antonio Peñate.

The objective of this technical cooperation is to carry out a project entitled "Strengthening Non-Bank Financial Institutions (NBFIs) in El Salvador for the Development of an Environmental and Social Policy through Technical Assistance and Training." This project seeks to mitigate the impact of the projects CABEI funds for its strategic partners through the adoption of the best environmental and social standards by the NBFIs.

For CABEI the main objective of this US$20 thousand in technical assistance is to strengthen the microfinance sector in El Salvador through FUNDAMICRO’s technical services, which involve training a group of 10 NBFIs previously selected by CABEI.

Mr. Raúl Castaneda explained that this project will provide a diagnosis of the NBFIs’ current approach to environmental and social issues, in addition to the identifying the environmental and social risks associated with the operations that they carry out.

He also explained that another of the program’s goals involves the training of the institutions’ personnel on the necessary guidelines for the development and implementation of an Environmental and Social Policy to mitigate environmental and social impact arising from CABEI-financed projects.

The initiative is part of the Technical and Financial Cooperation Program directed at the MSME sector; since 2000, CABEI has supported the sector with 169 cooperation projects amounting to US$5.2 million.

This project is in line with the focus area of financial intermediation and development finance, which is part of CABEI’s 2010-2014 Institutional Strategy, "Competitiveness with Integration and Social Development.”