IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is providing a $150 million loan to Banco Santander Brasil to boost access to finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
SMEs represent 99 percent of all companies in Brazil. They are engines of job creation, generating 54 percent of formal jobs and accounting for 27 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. In the first three quarters of 2017, they generated more than 389,000 new jobs.
IFC’s financing consists of a one-year $150 million loan from IFC’s own-account denominated in Brazilian local currency, which can be renewed twice for a total of up to three years.
“By supporting small and medium-sized enterprises, we are taking part in the process of recovery of the country’s growth, which is already in progress”, says Ede Viani, Director of Corporate, Governments & Institutions and Agribusiness at Banco Santander Brasil. “Partnering with IFC enables us to expand entrepreneurial credit, which is critical to business development.”
Santander Brasil is a leading source of financing for SMEs in the country, having registered a 2.2% growth in its SMEs portfolio in the last 12 months (until September). In addition to a wide range of financing options to SMEs, Santander also offers them the Programa Avançar, comprised of training, guidance, and information to help SMEs expand their businesses, including to international markets, among other features.
“Financial inclusion plays a vital role in economic development. It can improve people’s lives in measurable ways by generating income and economic activity,” says Ramiro Garcia, IFC’s Head of Financial Institutions Group for Brazil and the Southern Cone. “We are glad to partner with Banco Santander, a leader in Brazil’s financial sector which has demonstrated commitment to supporting small and medium businesses”.
IFC has been investing in Brazil’s private sector since 1957 to address the country’s most critical development challenges, including those of the urbanization, social inclusion, competitiveness and productivity, and management of natural resources.
Original source: IFC
Published on 22 December 2017
