Symbiotics Investments has arranged a USD 7,500,000 green bond to channel lending towards Banco Solidario in Ecuador, a specialized microfinance bank catering to micro-entrepreneurs and workers.
With the issuance of this green bond, Banco Solidario will enhance sustainable agricultural and climate-adapted financing. It also showcases its ability to align with the internationally accepted International Capital Market Association Green Bond Principles “ICMA GBP”, increasing the attraction of international financiers.
As part of their green strategy, Banco Solidario works with YAPU Solutions, a company offering digital tools for improved risk management, including climate indicators. YAPU performs periodic audits of the portfolio to certify the green loans. In this process, Banco Solidario identified 25 climate solutions for Ecuador. These include loans for sustainable agriculture and sustainable animal husbandry, climate smart farm inputs, preservation or restoration of natural landscapes, the agricultural and production value chain, and the alleviation of soil erosion.
“With the issuance of this green bond, Symbiotics Investments supports our long-term partner in expanding their new business line to help improve the productivity of small farmers in Ecuador and the quality of production, thus improve their credit risk profile. In addition, the green financing is geared to improve the management of ecosystems as a whole and the stability of services they provide to all of us.”, said Sebastián Sombra, Symbiotics Investments Regional Manager for Latin America and Caribbean.
“We value Symbiotics Investments support towards strengthening our work on green financing especially in the agricultural sector. Our commitment to sustainability remains stronger than ever as we are increasingly incorporating an environmental focus to our social mission, always seeking the long-term benefit of our clients. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Symbiotics Investments for this longstanding partnership to do good in our country.”, stated Fidel Durán, General Manager Banco Solidario.
The following SDG is promoted with this bond:
This green bond is issued via Symbiotics sponsored bond issuance platform (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Bonds S.A.) under its Sustainable Bond Framework, which was certified in December 2019 and November 2021 by DNV GL. The bond is listed on the Securities Official List of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange and displayed on Luxembourg Green Exchange.
Link to: Sustainable Bond Framework for Symbiotics
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About Symbiotics Investments
Symbiotics is the leading market access platform for impact investing, dedicated to private markets in emerging and frontier economies. The group offers investment, asset management and capacity building services. Since 2005, Symbiotics Investments has originated over 7,700 investments representing more than USD 9.6 billion for 580 companies in 95 countries. symbioticsgroup.com
About Banco Solidario
Banco Solidario is a medium-sized private Ecuadorian bank with a focus on microfinance. The bank was established in 1996 and its main business is the provision of microloans, which represent 55% of total loan portfolio. Solidario is a financial inclusion bank and since its creation has included more than one 1.6 million Ecuadorians into the financial system; its current financial inclusion rate is 33.05%. Solidario has one of the lowest average loan amounts in the system – USD 4,000 – through which it serves entrepreneurs with microbusinesses with a maximum of USD 100,000 in annual sales. 57% of those who access microcredit are women. banco-solidario.com
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For more information, contact:
Roberta Maurutto, Corporate Communication Specialist, Symbiotics
roberta.maurutto@symbioticsgroup.com
Edison Viteri, CFO, Banco Solidario
eviteri@solidario.fin.ec
