EIB Global has signed a €250 million financing agreement with Banco do Brasil that the two organisations say will unlock a total of €500 million in microcredit for women-led and women-owned microbusinesses in Brazil’s Legal Amazon region.
The European Investment Bank Group’s development arm said the funding is expected to provide access to finance for around 50,000 women entrepreneurs in the region.
The money will be channelled through Banco do Brasil in the form of microcredit — small loans typically used by microbusinesses, the European Investment Bank (EIB) informed on Monday.
The financing is intended for microenterprises owned or managed by women in the Brazilian Legal Amazon.
Focus on women-led microbusinesses in the Legal Amazon
The operation is expected to include longer loan maturities for final beneficiaries, meaning borrowers may have more time to repay, EIB Global said.
“Together with Banco do Brasil, we are helping unlock €500 million in microcredit for women-led and women-owned microbusinesses in the Amazon, with EIB Global contributing €250 million,” EIB Vice-President Ioannis Tsakiris stated.
“This partnership with the EIB reinforces Banco do Brasil’s position as a leading catalyst for sustainable development and international cooperation,” said Jose Ricardo Sasseron, the bank’s Vice-President Government and Corporate Sustainability.
The transaction reinforces the EU-Brazil Green Deal and the EU’s strategic partnership with Brazil, the European Investment Bank said.
