$11M AGREEMENT: DFC - ICDF TAIWAN FOR MSMES WITH FOCUS ON WOMEN AND GREEN FINANCING

Belmopan, April 18, 2023

On April 17, 2023, at the Office of the Prime Minister, the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Government of Belize signed a Loan and Grant Agreement with the International Cooperation and Development Fund of Taiwan (TaiwanICDF) to co-finance with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on a parallel basis, a project to support the sustainability of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) with a focus on women and green financing. The facility includes a loan component for US$5 million and a Grant component for US$0.5 million. The arrangement will include a Guarantee Agreement between the TaiwanICDF and the Government of Belize as well as a Coordination Agreement with IDB as Loan Administrator.

Signing on behalf of the Government of Belize was Prime Minister, Hon. John Briceño, and on behalf of the DFC, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Mr. Raineldo Guerrero, and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Henry N. Anderson.

The Ambassador to the Republic of China (Taiwan) to Belize, Her Excellency Lily Li-Wen Hsu was present for the signing of these agreements.

The Objective of the BZD $10 MN Line of Credit is to on lend to support the sustainability of MSMEs as employment providers in Belize and to support the post-COVID economic recovery of MSMEs, especially those owned or led by women, through access to production-oriented finance. The BZD $1 MN will support DFC’s Digital Transformation.