IFC Announces $50 M Loan to Caja Arequipa to Promote MSMEs in Peru

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, announced a loan of $50 million (equivalent to S/198 million) to Caja Arequipa, a leading financial institution in the municipal savings bank system of Peru, in order to promote the generation of credits for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country, with a special focus on the segment of companies led by women.

The loan will benefit more than 20,000 clients of Caja Arequipa, which will contribute to the development of the most vulnerable sectors of Peru in the context of the economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic. The Cajas Municipales de Ahorro y Crédito (CMAC) model has been a success story for microfinance in Peru and is considered a benchmark for microfinance institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). CMACs represent around 47.8 percent of the Peruvian microfinance sector and have been essential in providing MSMEs with access to finance.