US$10.0 million from CABEI for MIPYMES affected by COVID-19 in Panama
To alleviate the economic effects caused by COVID-19, CABEI has provided resources, guarantees, grace periods and technical assistance to MIPYME in the region.
City of Panamá, September 10, 2020.- The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), through its Financial Sector Support Facility for Financing Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MIPYME), made the first disbursement in Panama for US$10.0 million to restore productive capacity, boost the economy, and maintain and recover jobs lost during the country's health crisis.
The resources disbursed are available at the International Bank of Costa Rica (BICSA), a financial institution allied with CABEI since 2005 and which last June was the beneficiary of an increase in its global line of credit up to a total amount of US$92.0 million.
Funds can be requested to work on the following sectors: tourism, industry, service provision and agri-food. MIPYMES will benefit from financing to meet working capital needs and operational obligations; this will in turn protect the employment generated by these important business sectors in the country.
CABEI's Executive President, Dr. Dante Mossi, commented "it is important to reach those micro, small and medium enterprises that are part of the country's economic system. The Bank is grateful to partner institutions like BICSA that are committed to the development of our countries and the region. It is important that these entrepreneurs affected by the situation resulting from COVID-19 approach these institutions and consult the opportunities offered by CABEI."
The Financial Sector Support Facility for the Financing of MIPYMES is provided with resources from CABEI, the Government of Germany through KfW, the European Union and Taiwan-ICDF and is part of the Central American countries' COVID-19 Emergency Support and Preparedness Program for Economic Reactivation, approved by CABEI on March 31, 2020 for an amount of US$2,360.1 million dollars to date, as a response to the impacts of the pandemic.
Since September, this facility can now be complemented with a program of partial credit guarantees, which, at no cost to the intermediary banks and their clients, minimizes the risks of non-payment associated with the MIPYME sector due to the current economic crisis.
In the coming weeks, this facility for economic recovery will continue to be strengthened by making technical assistance funds and donations in the form of seed capital available to Panamanian MIPYMEs.
