The Banco de Ahorro y Crédito Adopem S.A., a Dominican Republic financial institution from the BBVA Microfinance Foundation (BBVAMF) created in 2007, has announced the issuance of a five-year gender bond with the support of IDB Invest, for an amount in local currency equivalent to 15 million dollars.

The proceeds will be used to support the growth of the Bank’s strategic portfolios related to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) led by women or microenterprises owned by women. The bond is aligned with the Social Bond Principles of the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA).

The project includes an evaluation young women entrepreneurs’ experience with financial products and services to understand the gaps in access to finance. It will also help identify the needs of young women to expand their entrepreneurship. Additionally, the project will include a financial incentive based on performance of up to 280,000 dollars to achieve annual goals for the number of women-owned SME clients and migrant SME clients from Haiti or Venezuela in Banco Adopem’s portfolio.