In Costa Rica, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) make up the major part of the country's economy. In many cases, their production processes and facilities are outdated, consume large amounts of resources and put a considerable strain on the environment. However, MSMEs mostly lack the technical knowledge and financial resources for investments in resource-efficient and clean production. Moreover, as the economic and ecological benefits of resource-efficient production is not always clear to loan officers at local bank branches, some tend to be hesitant to grant loans for a technology they are not familiar with.
Against this backdrop, the KfW Development Bank introduced a new environmental credit line of more than 30 million Euros. With this credit line, KfW is supporting the Banco Nacional de Costa Rica (BNCR) in refinancing loans to MSMEs who intend to invest in clean technologies and resource efficiency. Furthermore, the programme will strengthen the financial sector in Costa Rica by establishing long-term loans for financing environmental investments through selected financial intermediaries.
adelphi and its partners Österreichische Bundesforste, green development and Lexincorp have now been tasked to support BNCR in the set-up of a Fund of Environmental Technical Assistance. This fund's objective is to promote the environmental credit line, strengthen the institutional structures of BNCR and providing assistance to MSMEs for identifying and analysing environmental investments and submitting loan applications.
