IIC-NDF Trust Fund agreement amended to support SME energy efficiency in the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Honduras, and Nicaragua
MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay — The Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) and the Nordic Development Fund (NDF) reaffirmed their ongoing commitment to supporting SMEs in Central America and to expanding the GREENPYME initiative in Latin America and the Caribbean by signing an amendment to the existing €2.2 million agreement of the IIC-NDF Trust Fund, which will now include an additional €3 million from the NDF. This new contribution will finance the IIC’s GREENPYME initiative in the Plurinational State of Bolivia and enhance GREENPYME activities currently under way in Honduras and Nicaragua, all of which are low-income countries. The signing ceremony took place within the framework of the Twenty-seventh Annual Meeting of IIC’s Board of Governors.
GREENPYME seeks to provide SMEs with know-how, tools, as well as technical and financial support for implementing energy efficiency measures and clean technologies. In 2011, with the support of the NDF, the IIC’s GREENPYME initiative was launched in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. The expansion of the initiative aims at tackling the main barriers to energy efficiency identified in the Plurinational State of Bolivia as well as expanding the scope of work currently under way in Honduras and Nicaragua. Over a 3-year period, GREENPYME will undertake activities to raise awareness and promote information on energy efficiency for SMEs, build capacity with the assistance of local partners, conduct energy audits, and promote the use of clean technologies.
“The roll-out of GREENPYME in Central America has been going well. The initiative has received ample recognition for its relevance and potential to help SMEs reduce their energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. In keeping with the NDF’s commitments to climate change adaptation and mitigation, this new contribution will scale up GREENPYME activities currently under way in Honduras and Nicaragua and launch the initiative in the Plurinational State of Bolivia,” noted Helge Semb, Managing Director of the Nordic Development Fund.
According to Jacques Rogozinski, the IIC’s General Manager, “GREENPYME promotes more rational use of energy resources, thus enabling companies to become more competitive and sustainable while reducing their energy costs and improving their environmental profile. Increasing the scope of GREENPYME activities currently under way in Honduras and Nicaragua—two countries which would especially benefit from more SME technical assistance—and expanding the program to the Plurinational State of Bolivia will further enhance the region’s energy savings potential. The NDF’s contribution has been a game-changer for the IIC and will certainly help us continue fulfilling our mandate of making companies more competitive and sustainable.”
The amendment to the IIC-NDF Trust Fund agreement was signed by Satu Santala, Director, Unit for Develompent Financing Institutions, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland; Helge Semb, Managing Director, Nordic Development Fund; and Jacques Rogozinski, General Manager of the IIC. Attending the signing ceremony were Christian Pages and Marita Olson, IIC Executive Director and Alternate Executive Director, respectively, for Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Also in attendance were Leena Klossner, Deputy Director of the NDF; Orla Bakdal, IDB Alternate Executive Director for Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway, Spain, and Sweden; Viviana Caro, Minister of Planning of the Plurinational State of Bolivia; Miraglyha Giles, Director for External Financing, Ministry of Planning of the Plurinational State of Bolivia; Luis Hernando Larrazábal, IIC Alternate Executive Director for Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay; Steven Reed, IIC Deputy General Manager, and Jorge Roldán, Division Chief, IIC Technical Assistance and Strategic Partnerships Division.
The IIC is a multilateral financial institution that is a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group. The IIC’s mission is to promote the economic development of its regional member countries by encouraging the establishment, expansion, and modernization of private enterprises, particularly those that are small and medium in size. It does so by providing financing (in the form of equity investments, loans, guarantees, and other instruments) and advisory services to private enterprises in Latin America and the Caribbean. As of September 2011, the IIC’s equity totaled US$799 million, with US$1.44 billion in assets, US$987 million of which make up its development portfolio in the region. For more information on the IIC’s activities, visit www.iic.org.