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EL SALVADOR: NEW BACKING FOR MICROENTERPRISE The German government has provided a loan of $8 million Deutsche Marks to Financiera Calpia, an innovative institution in El Salvador that has already provided credit to help 25,000 microentrepreneurs establish and expand businesses. The loan, from Kreditanstalt Fur Wiederaufbau, the German overseas development agency, will be used to provide further credit to microentrepreneurs and small-scale businesspeople throughout the country. Calpia, a regulated microfinance institution, has provided $77 million in loans to small businesses and microentrepreneurs since beginning operations in August 1995. Among its financial backers are the IDB-administered Multilateral Investment Fund and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration, which each own 25 percent of Calpia. The credit is extended on market terms to finance fixed assets and working capital for businesses that would otherwise have difficulty obtaining loans. Calpia has a total capitalization of about $5 million.
Doing well by doing good could be the motto of the Environmental Finance Corporation (CFA after its name in Spanish), Central America's first venture capital fund for sustainable development. Completing its first full year of operations, the San José, Costa Rica-based organization has made equity investments in five businesses. Among them are a firm that processes wood from tree plantations, an export company that collects aluminum for recycling, a small-scale hydroelectric plant, a manufacturer of plant-derived abrasives for the semi-conductor industry, and a meat processing cooperative that will install a wastewater treatment facility. The CFA, partially funded by the IDB-administered Multilateral Investment Fund, supports projects in renewable energy, energy efficiency, pollution abatement, ecotourism, recycling, sustainable forestry, agriculture and aquaculture. It is managed by Environmental Enterprises Assistance Fund of Arlington, Virginia, and its subsidiary is based in Costa Rica. Capitalized at $10 million, the fund provides financing in amounts ranging from $100,000 to $750,000. In nearly all investments, the CFA has been the sole outside source of capital. |
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NEED DETAILS? IDB Projects, a monthly listing of planned projects and procurement opportunities, is also on the home page, under "Business Opportunities." For a sample printed copy, call (202) 623-1397, or fax x1403. The Public Information Center can provide further information at 202-623-2096, or e-mail PIC@iadb.org.
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