Montevideo, Uruguay, March 5, 2013 — The Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) and Afenor S.A. have signed a loan agreement for up to US$150,000 that will enable the Uruguayan printing company to handle its growing demand in the market.
Afenor's sales have increased substantially in recent years, and the loan approved will serve as working capital to permit the sustainable growth of the company. The IIC funds come from the FINPYME Credit program.
“With this financing the IIC is supporting small and medium-sized Uruguayan enterprises by providing Afenor with tools to boost its production and thereby promote its development and competitiveness," noted Ignacio González, IIC investment analyst in charge of the operation.
Afenor has been in the Uruguayan market for over a decade. It produces boxes for medications, handling the printing, varnishing, and folding process, and has specialized in printing for pharmaceutical laboratories. In recent years, the company has modernized and obtained internationally recognized certifications of quality. The rise in the printing company's sales numbers is due primarily to an increase in the exports of the Uruguayan laboratories that constitute its customers.
FINPYME Credit is a program of smaller-scale loans that provides competitive financing to small and medium sized enterprises in Latin America and the Caribbean. The loans range from US$100,000 to US$600,000 and are available to businesses from several productive sectors. FINPYME Credit is offered in Uruguay, among other countries of the region, and supports small companies looking to increase their sales by financing investments in working capital as well as fixed assets.
The IIC, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, promotes private-sector development in Latin America and the Caribbean with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We help companies streamline management processes and provide them with financing in the form of equity investments, loans, and guarantees. In 2012, the IIC approved 73 operations totaling US$378.9 million. Throughout our history we have directly or indirectly financed more than 1.6 million loans and subloans to SMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean. For more information on the IIC’s activities, visit www.iic.org.