SANTO DOMINGO – Since 2019, Banco BHD has received RD$9.3 billion in international funding for business loans to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) owned or led by women in the Dominican Republic. Of this amount, the bank has already disbursed RD$1.19 billion, benefiting 851 women entrepreneurs in the MSME sector.
In 2019, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) granted BHD a fund of RD$500 million to support women-led micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which was exhausted that same year. In 2023, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank Group and the IDB provided the local financial institution with RD$8.8 billion for the same purpose, of which RD$690 million has already been disbursed, the institution noted in a press release.
Luis Lembert, general manager of Banco BHD, stated that "with these agreements, we are consistently contributing to the economic success and major business goals of women-led or women-owned micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in our country by facilitating their access to funds with better repayment terms. This contribution to the women's business sector helps reduce the credit access gap that particularly affects women entrepreneurs.".
Eighty-one percent of the women entrepreneurs who benefited from these loans belong to the commerce and services sectors; the remainder to tourism, manufacturing, health, agriculture, education, and construction. These credit facilities are primarily intended for working capital and business investments through asset acquisition. Forty-nine percent of the loans were granted to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) led by women located in the National District and Santo Domingo; 38% in the North; and 12% in the South and East.
Women at the center of BHD's gender strategy
Banco BHD is part of the Dominican Republic's National Gender Parity Initiative, a public-private collaboration model promoted by the IDB and the World Economic Forum, with the aim of reducing the barriers that prevent women from accessing employment, business and leadership opportunities on equal terms.
Josefina González, Senior Vice President of Personal and Business Banking at Banco BHD, highlighted that "we are the leading bank for women in the Dominican Republic and that is why we strive to demonstrate the principles of our gender strategy, which place women at the center of all our initiatives: internal labor practices of equality and gender equity, a value proposition that combines banking products and services with non-financial solutions, and a social pillar through which we recognize and support women whose work contributes to the positive transformation of society.".
