The following post is provided by Sicredi, World Council's direct member organizations in Brazil.

Sicredi is among the financial institutions authorized by Brazil's National Bank for Economic and Social Development to offer credit with a guarantee from the Emergency Program for Access to Credit (PEAC FGI), recently launched by the Ministry of Economy. 

The Program aims to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) overcome the economic crisis resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

"The measure increases our ability to meet the credit needs of members, including medium-sized companies, which have not yet had specific emergency action. At this moment, it is essential that companies have access to working capital to maintain their economic activities and minimize the impacts of the crisis, and we are committed to seeking solutions to support them,” said Gustavo Freitas, Credit Director at Banco Cooperativo Sicredi.

PEAC FGI was created to complement creditors' guarantees in credit operations until December 31 of this year, the term of the program. The Program's objective is to generate greater security and thus stimulate credit with good conditions for businesses. Sicredi's aims to serve approximately 10,000 members through the initiative in 22 states and the Federal District.

Under the rules of the PEAC FGI, small- and medium-sized companies with gross revenue calculated in 2019 between US $68,000 and US $56 million will be entitled to request the guarantee. The minimum amount per operation is  US $945 and the maximum per company is US $1.9 million. 

Other information can be accessed at www.bndes.gov.br/wps/portal/site/home/financiamento/peac .