Germany Donates Credit for SMEs

SMALL and medium enterprises(SMEs) can now count on a new resourceto help lessen their impact on the environment,thanks to a 15 million euro ($18million) line of credit extended byGermany to Costa Rica.Costa Rica and Germany signed a conventionOct. 13 to offer the credit, whichcomes from the German bank KfW (Kreditanstaltfür Wiederaufbau), to SMEsthrough the Banco Nacional de Costa Rica,according to a statement from the ForeignRelations Ministry. The credit will assistbusinesses that otherwise couldn’t affordto invest in technologies that reduce theirimpact on the environment.The convention, signed by CostaRican Foreign Relations Vice-MinisterMarco Vinicio Vargas and GermanAmbassador Volker Fink, also establishesa Technical Assistance Fund, which willaid Costa Rican businesses in credit applicationsand environmental investments,the statement said.Businesses in the industrial, serviceand tourism sectors will be eligible for theprogram.