CAF leads US$75M Banco Guayaquil financing for SME and agricultural development in Ecuador

CAF—development bank of Latin America—led the structuring of a $75-million financing for Ecuador’s Banco Guayaquil, for the development of the nation’s productive sector.

The multiple-purpose facility will finance between 1,000 and 1,500 small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as investments in green businesses, energy efficiency, and “smart agriculture”.

In addition, the loan provides Banco Guayaquil with technical assistance resources to improve its environmental and social management, and to facilitate access to European development agencies, which not only offer diversification of its financial structure, but also provide knowledge transfer in relevant issues.  

The structured financing engaged new and traditional financial partners such as Proparco (Société de Promotion et de Participation Pour la Coopération Economique), BIO (Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries), Eco.Business Fund, Multibank (Panama) and Banco de Occidente (Panama). The loan provides for financing terms of up to 4 years for the Bank’s financial structure.   

Additionally, Julio Mackliff, Executive Vice President of Management and Operations at Banco Guayaquil noted that this financing operation constitutes a clear support to the Bank’s sustainable growth strategy to serve the SME segment, bridging term-related market gaps and boosting their growth.

Bernardo Requena, CAF representative in Ecuador, commented that these financing structures are one of the mechanisms used by CAF as a development bank of Latin America to finance development projects, in partnership with international financial institutions, with high added value for the country.

Thus, CAF’s catalytic role is put into practice, by channeling resources to the nation and Banco de Guayaquil under competitive conditions for small and medium-sized enterprises.