Portfolio Partner Profile

Banco Internacional De Costa Rica (BICSA)

Banco Internacional de Costa Rica (“BICSA”) provides debt capital to small and medium-sized enterprises in Central and South America. It specializes in trade finance, which helps businesses sell their goods and services in new markets. Calvert Impact Capital's loan to BICSA will support businesses that meet the OECD definition of a small and medium-sized enterprise and/or possess Rainforest Alliance, Forest Stewardship Council, 4C, Organic, or Fair Trade certifications. The impact objective of this transaction is to promote job creation and improve access to capital for small businesses.

According to the World Bank, roughly half of SMEs located in developing markets have insufficient access to financing. Of the estimated 52 million SMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean, 18 million are thought to be entirely unserved, and a further 9 million have some financing but need more (1). A separate World Bank survey of local banks and financial regulators (2) found that capital sources for trade finance had declined significantly in Latin America and the Caribbean since the global financial crisis. Our facility aims to counteract this trend by making new capital available for SME lending, with a focus on businesses with sustainable and fair trade practices.

J. Owens and L. Wilhelm. Alternative Data Transforming SME Finance. May 2017.
Withdrawal from Correspondent Banking, Where, Why, and What to Do about It. November 2015. World Bank Finance and Markets Global Practice