CAF makes first investment in Trinidad with Dynamic Equity

The Andean Development Corporation signed agreements for its first ever financing operation in Trinidad on 26 November. The organisation's name in Spanish is Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF). Its first operation here is to provide US$ 0.5 million in equity financing to Dynamic Equity Venture Fund Ltd.

CAF is a multilateral financing agency formed originally by the countries of the Andean Group: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. It serves public and private sectors by providing multiple financial services to a broad customer base of shareholder countries, corporations, and financial institutions. Since the 1990's its membership has expanded to include other Latin American and Caribbean countries. Trinidad and Tobago became a member of CAF in 1994.

Enrique García, CAF's Executive President, indicated: "CAF's participation in the Dynamic Equity Venture Fund, our first equity participation in T&T, fulfils our institutional goal of providing support to projects and programs that improve the production capacity of small and medium-sized enterprises, and also prepare them to participate actively in the international markets."

Len Hackshaw, Chairman of Dynamic Equity, said: "We are very pleased to be the first local investment selected by CAF. It is nice to get a vote of confidence from outside our country. We hope to demonstrate that Trinidad and Tobago is a good place to do business for CAF".

CAF joins Guardian Life of the Caribbean and the Inter-American Development Bank as investors in the Dynamic Equity Venture Fund, which now has $ 35 million of available capital. Dynamic Equity makes venture capital and private equity investments that support growth and expansion at medium-sized companies.