Washington DC, January 23, 2017 — IFC,
a member of the World Bank Group, has provided $92.5 million in long term
financing to four subsidiaries of Grupo Promerica to boost access to finance
for small and medium enterprises. Though small and medium enterprises are
engines of job creation, representing 95 percent of all companies in Costa
Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua, more than half of them still
lack access to finance, which limits their ability to grow.
IFC’s investment will support four different banks: Banco de la Produccion
S.A. in Nicaragua ($30 million), Banco Promerica S.A in Costa Rica ($32.5
million), Banco Promerica S.A. in El Salvador ($20 million) and Banco Promerica
S.A. Guatemala ($10 million).
Promerica’s subsidiaries in Nicaragua and Costa Rica will also use IFC’s
funding to provide loans to companies that want to adopt more energy efficient
practices and utilize cleaner energy sources. The objective is to help
companies access credit to invest in clean energy projects. Nicaragua has
extensive geothermic resources while Costa Rica, a global leader in renewable
energy, is aiming to reach carbon neutrality by the end of 2021.
“Sustainability presents challenges for businesses, but also wide-ranging
opportunities,” said Ramiro Ortiz Mayorga, President of the Board of Directors
and CEO of Grupo Promerica. “Some financial institutions in the region
are reluctant to provide credits to implement new technologies that they
may not be familiar with. IFC’s support allows us to make funds available
that are targeted to energy efficiency. It will also help us expand our
portfolio for small and medium entrepreneurs. Their businesses generate
the vast majority of jobs in Central America and provide essential goods
and services.”
“One of the cornerstones of IFC’s strategy in Central America is to facilitate
regional integration, which is critical to competitiveness,” said Luc
Grillet, IFC’s Senior Manager for Central America and the Caribbean. “Our
investment in Grupo Promerica will help a regional financial group expand
access to small and medium entrepreneurs and to climate-related investments,
through long-term funding to its subsidiaries.”
About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development
institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. Working
with 2,000 businesses worldwide, we use our six decades of experience to
create opportunity where it’s needed most. In FY16, our long-term investments
in developing countries rose to nearly $19 billion, leveraging our capital,
expertise and influence to help the private sector end extreme poverty
and boost shared prosperity. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.
About Grupo Promerica
Promerica is a group of financial institutions linked through Promerica
Financial Corporation (PFC), managed by a multinational team of prestigious
bankers of different nationalities with broad knowledge of economic activities
in Central America, the Caribbean and South America, with 25 years of successful
performance, has become one of the most important financial groups in Latin
America; with presence in nine countries: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras,
Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Dominican Republic and Grand Cayman.
Through the financial services that Promerica offers, it contributes to
the financial inclusion, as well as the economic progress of the different
societies and communities that it serves.
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