US$300,000 invested in EDPyME Crear Arequipa.

(Arequipa, November 9, 2006).- The Andean Development Corporation (CAF) and EDPyME Crear Arequipa signed a new agreement under which the multilateral organization will make a capital investment of US$300,000 to strengthen the microfinance institution and support the process of conversion to a Financial Institution (Financiera) in order to expand its offer of services. The agreement was signed in the offices of Crear Arequipa by CAF director representative in Peru Germán Jaramillo, and EDPyME Crear Arequipa President Percy Tapia Vargas.

The CAF representative said that the current growth of the microenterprise market made it increasingly important to have solid financial institutions with capacity to respond efficiently and profitably to a larger number of people. "This operation strengthens one of the institutions most committed to Peruvian microenterprise, which seeks to expand its capacity and coverage of services to benefit a larger number of people in this country," Jaramillo added.

With the capital investment, Crear Arequipa will increase its offer of financial products, including deposit services for microenterprises in the south and the rest of the country, as well as gaining access to the securities market. This second investment in the country in the microfinance area reaffirms CAF’s firm commitment to the development of microfinance in Peru. The first operation was with Mibanco which, in addition to renewing the existing line of credit agreement, for the first time established clauses to authorize the Peruvian financial institution to access finance in local currency.

About Crear Arequipa Entidad de Desarrollo de la Pequeña y Microempresa CRÉDITOS AREQUIPA S.A.C. (EDPYME CREAR AREQUIPA) was established on November 5, 1997 and authorized to operate by the Superintendency of Banks and Insurance on April 3, 1998. The institution began operations on April 13, 1998, after six years of credit experience as ONG HABITAT AREQUIPA SIGLO XXI which executed credit programs for micro and small enterprises in the departments of Arequipa (Arequipa, Mollendo and Camaná) and Puno (Juliaca).