The 2,500 million pesos raised with the gender bond recently placed by IDB Invest, the private sector institution of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), will be used to grant credits to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) led by women in Mexico, in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Roberto Manrique, representative of the IDB Group in Mexico, assured during the placement ceremony in the Institutional Stock Exchange (Biva) on the occasion of this issue, that despite the fact that women have demonstrated their entrepreneurial capacity in the region, only 30 % manage to access credit to develop their businesses and with gender disparities they were exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Women disproportionately face the burden of the health and economic crisis, losing on average 25% more jobs than men,” said Roberto Manrique.
Therefore, she considered that the post-pandemic economic recovery “must include financing actions for women,” since closing the gender gap is positive for businesses and for the economy.
“This bond will contribute to expanding access to markets and closing the financing gap for micro, small and medium-sized companies led by women in Mexico and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Manrique.
Pandemic increases poverty
In her turn, María Ariza, general director of Biva, highlighted the relevance of the IDB Invest bond to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women in the region, since only last year 23 million women fell into a situation of poverty due to the pandemic.
While in Mexico 46% of women do not have any type of credit and more than 1,200 MSMEs are headed by women.
“The issuance of the IDB Invest gender bond demonstrates the importance of changing the reality of the beneficiaries, their families and their environments, which will later be reflected in economic growth,” said the CEO of Biva.
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