The alliance between Citi and Compartamos Financiera consists of a US$ 20MM Medium Term Loan – 65% of the funds will be used to finance loans to women entrepreneurs.

As part of their mission of promoting financial inclusion and continuing to support small and micro entrepreneurs, Compartamos Financiera received a US$20 million Local Currency equivalent loan from Citi Peru. 65% of the funds will be used to finance companies owned by women, and the transaction has been qualified as “2X”, a global initiative that seeks to mobilize capital to support female-managed businesses.

This financing is part of the financial inclusion program that Citibank NA maintains with the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and represents the first transaction of its type in Peru. Compartamos Financiera is the country’s leading financial entity to promote financial access in the country. 

Citi awarded the loan as part of its Social Finance Strategy in partnership with high-impact investors and multilateral development organizations to broaden access to credit in low- and mid-income countries. It builds on initiatives launched in 2022, when Citi Peru closed several social finance deals with partners in the financial and education sectors.

“This financing will allow Compartamos to enter new markets in Peru and reach more clients in an environment of controlled risk and with a focus on financial inclusion, integrating more people into the formal financial system. Citi is excited to be part of thecountry’s journey toward financial inclusion by reaffirming our commitment to our communities,” remarked Miguel Uccelli, CCO at Citi Peru.

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“This deal is part of Citi’s social finance effort in Latin America and the Caribbean, which raised US$ 2 billion last year for projects related to financial inclusion, access to services and basic infrastructure for low-income populations in the countries where we operate,” said Borja García, Head de Structuring and Latin America and the Caribbean for Citi Social Finance.

Ralph Guerra, Compartamos Financiera CEO, also highlighted the importance of this type of initiatives: “In the last five years, we have successfully inserted and reinserted more than one million entrepreneurs into the regulated financial system; of which almost 900 thousand are women, mainly through our group credit loans. With the financing granted by Citi, we will continue to promote access to banking services for more Peruvian entrepreneurs and, with this, continue to accompany them in their growth and that of their families.”

This most recent loan is part of Citi’s commitment to invest US$ 1 trillion in sustainable financing by 2030. It contributes to progress toward several UN Sustainable Development Goals, including SDG 1, to eliminate poverty, SDG 5, to promote gender equality, and SDG 8, to support decent work and economic growth.