Trinidad and Tobago's Ministry of Finance set out the launch of the Catalytic Fund, a facility delivered through the Export-Import Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (EXIMBANK) and backed by CAF Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, aimed at expanding access to lower-cost finance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The fund is positioned as a response to constraints highlighted by the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago, including limited access to financing and high financing costs, with an average SME financing gap estimated at about $15 million. The Catalytic Fund is designed to offer CAF-subsidised pricing, reduced collateral requirements and a package that includes tailored loan products, financial guarantees for SME loans made by partnering development finance institutions and microfinance institutions, and advisory services such as subsidised accounting support and export planning. It is linked to a USD 35 million CAF investment loan executed with the government in October 2024 to strengthen EXIMBANK’s SME offering and institutional capacity, including adopting environmental, social and governance criteria, and is expected to support more than 100 SMEs across sectors including creative industries, information and communications technology, agriculture and renewable energy. The ministry also pointed to complementary measures, including EXIMBANK’s foreign exchange window (with 80% of beneficiaries described as SMEs), a $500 million Loan-by-Loan Guarantee Scheme with over $150 million already subscribed in guarantees, accelerated VAT refunds (over 6,000 refunds up to $250,000 issued at a cost of over $500 million), ongoing processing of over 80,000 individual tax refunds up to $25,000, and an extension of tax and National Insurance amnesties to March 31, 2025.

Original source View in tracker