As part of the GEF-funded CAMBio biodiversity project, funded by the GEF, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) will provide US$1.49 million in credit guarantees for local loans in five Central American countries to small-, micro- and medium-sized enterprises that incorporate biodiversity concerns into products and services.
27 February 2012: The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) has launched a US$1.49 million Regional Program of Credit Guarantees to provide incentives for investment and lending to “biodiversity friendly” small, micro- and medium-sized enterprises (BF-SMMEs) in five Central American countries.
The credit guarantee programme is part of a larger Central American Markets for Biodiversity (CAMBio) project funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
Under the regional programme, BCIE will work through its network of financial intermediaries in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua to provide credit guarantees to local banks to cover loans from investors in SMMEs that incorporate biodiversity concerns in their products and services.
The new programme complements an existing CAMBio element executed by the BCIE, the Fund for Strengthening Technical and Business Capacity of BF-SMMEs, which to date has benefited more than 6,366 SMMEs in the region. [BCIE Press Release (Spanish)]