Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Inter-American Development Bank and the Mexican Business Council ( CMN ) are launching a credit program for 30,000 micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises ( Mipymes ). The IDB and the CMN are asking national and international investors to join the initiative.
The Finance Ministry will support the program with credits for up to USD $12 billion . The credits represent a financing alternative and have very attractive interest rates .
The IDB asked local banks, commercial banks, international investors, and development banks to collaborate.
According to estimates, there are 4.1 million micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises in the country. Moreover, these companies produce 42% of the GDP and generate 78% of jobs ; however, only 23% of them are financed by commercial banks.
Recommended: Mexican economy to contract by 6% in 2020, the World Bank forecasts
In its website, the Inter-American Development Bank explains that along with IDB Invest , it will deploy “financial and technical resources made available to borrowing member countries and companies to address the crisis created by COVID-19.”
Its economic plan includes the “assistance to SMEs , which account for 70% of the region’s jobs, through financing programs and short-term liquidity guarantees, foreign-trade financing and guarantees, loan restructuring, and support for strategic supply chains.”
What is the Inter-American Development Bank?
The IDB Group is the leading source of development finance for Latin America and the Caribbean. It provides financial solutions and development know-how to public- and private-sector clients. The Group comprises the IDB, which has worked with governments for 60 years; IDB Invest, which serves the private sector; and IDB Lab, which tests innovative ways to enable more inclusive growth.
Recommended: 18 million Mexican jobs are at risk due to the COVID-19 crisis
gm