USD 50-million line of credit for Santander Brazil to increase financing for SMEs led by women

CAF-development bank of Latin America- opened a USD 50-million line of credit to Santander Brazil to encourage the inclusion of women in the financial system. This transaction will ultimately grant credit to SMEs led by women. The bank’s female customers will have access to funds for foreign trade operations and working capital.

According to a study by the economic department of Santander, around 2.5 million new businesses will be created in 2018. At the same time, job growth is estimated at 2.2 percent for the same period, which accounts for 2 million new jobs in the formal and informal sectors. More than one million of these will be subject to traditional employers, self-employed and micro-enterprises. This figure leaps to 1.3 million when we throw small businesses into the mix. In other words, business activity may be responsible for nearly two thirds of new jobs generated in 2018. In this scenario, “women are proving to be excellent managers, but only a small number of them actually run companies,” said Ede Viani, director of Businesses, Governments & Institutions and Agribusiness at Banco Santander Brazil.

“CAF is committed to leveraging the productive transformation and promoting gender equality through financial inclusion in its member countries. We believe that this specific line of credit for SMEs led by women reinforces this commitment,” said Jaime Holguín, CAF representative in Brazil.

According to World Bank data, the majority of women have credit cards – compared to 33% of men – and only 3% of women applied for loans to start, operate or expand their own business, while 7% of men have applied for such funds. “Our partnership with Santander Brazil, with its extensive experience in the SME sector, will pave the way to set these actions into motion, which will ultimately benefit women entrepreneurs seeking financing to improve their productive capacity and to “internationalize their businesses," said Holguín.

Santander Brazil is one of the leaders in financing SMEs in the country and recorded a 5.6% growth in its loan portfolio for that segment in the 12 months ending in March, when the amount totaled R$ 34.32 billion. In addition to a full suite of financial solutions, the bank offers the Avanzar program, a free value offer for existing customers and prospects, which aims to support growth of small and medium-sized enterprises through non-financial solutions, including online courses with options ranging from languages to financial management and strategic marketing.