Montreal – July 6th, 2020- FinDev Canada announced a loan of USD 15 million to leading Latin American and Caribbean financial institution, CIFI (Corporación Interamericana para el Financiamiento de Infraestructura, S.A.). The loan will help to facilitate green growth lending opportunities in these regions, contributing to renewable energy projects, job growth and market development.
Founded in 2001, CIFI’s focus is to provide lending options such as project financing and corporate loans, along with advisory services, to small-to-midsize infrastructure projects, including green growth, in Latin America and the Caribbean. Headquartered in Panama, CIFI utilizes their proximity to their clients and decades of operational knowledge in their region to bridge the gaps between local SMEs and international investors.
The loan will contribute towards investment in renewable energy projects across Latin America and the Caribbean, specifically building new solar, wind & biomass energy facilities. It will also bolster local market development, yielding significant job creation and adding economic value to the region.
“This partnership with CIFI presents FinDev Canada with the opportunity to work with one of the leading players in mid-market infrastructure and green growth financing,” said Paulo Martelli, Director of Investments at FinDev Canada. “We are thrilled to be making a sustainable and economic impact with such an experienced institution.”
“Our partnership with FinDev Canada gives us the opportunity to continue diversifying our funding with institutions that share our long-term commitment and mission towards sustainable development in the region. – Cesar Cañedo Arguelles, Chief Executive Officer at CIFI.
Our partnership will provide financing solutions to middle market infrastructure projects raising their profile with the highest ESG standards in our sector while mainstreaming gender equality and climate change mitigation.
Green Growth Financing for Everyone
FinDev Canada’s loan will contribute to the building of new solar, wind, co-generation and biomass energy installations, creating an additional of 270 MW of generational capacity. This will also generate approximately 828,000 MW hours of renewable energy per year.
These projects will lead to approximately 644,000 tons of CO2 avoided, as well as significant improvements in water treatment and sewage processing in the area. With FinDev Canada’s support, CIFI’s green growth financing opportunities will serve an estimated 328,000 people with clean low-carbon energy annually.
CIFI’s operations directly align with FinDev Canada’s commitment to fulfilling the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically, SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).
Inclusive Market Development
FinDev Canada’s loan will also contribute to local market development, facilitating direct economic value addition. It will sustain local employment, providing job opportunities to people in the area.
CIFI has a Gender Equality Policy and Strategy, through which it is actively working to support women’s economic empowerment and gender equality in its own operations. This includes clear objectives and targets to ensure that their leadership reflects a balance between men and women and identify opportunities to support and advance women (who represent 46% of all employees) in their workforce.
CIFI also qualifies for the 2X Challenge: Financing for Women, a pledge by DFIs to mobilize substantial capital for investment in business activities that will benefit women.
About FinDev Canada
Development Finance Institute Canada (DFIC) Inc., operating under the FinDev Canada brand, is a Canadian institution dedicated to providing financial services to the private sector in developing countries with the aim of combating poverty through economic growth by focusing on three main themes: economic development through job creation, women economic empowerment, and climate change mitigation. The Development Finance Institute Canada (DFIC) Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Export Development Canada (EDC). Find out more about FinDev Canada here.
La Corporación para el Financiamiento de Infraestructura (CIFI), is the leading non bank financial institution that specializes in structuring and financing private sector, middle market, infrastructure projects in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Founded in 2001 by a unique group of shareholders among them: development financial institutions, multilaterals, and commercial banks, has provided financing solutions to over 200 projects, with total cumulative disbursements of over $1.5 billion.