Argentina and Paraguay launch new credit programs for small and medium enterprises

The government of Argentina’s Mendoza province announced a 6.2 billion‑peso financing package aimed at micro, small and medium enterprises, entrepreneurs and cooperatives that operate within the province. The scheme offers four credit lines: 2 billion pesos for industry, commerce and logistics projects, another 2 billion for 2,000 hectares of forage production for the livestock sector, 1.2 billion for innovative cooperatives, and a 1 billion guarantee fund managed by Cuyo Aval SGR. Applicants must be based in Mendoza and invest locally. Minister Natalio Mema highlighted that a previous 100 billion‑peso line at 18 % interest was taken up by 2,000 firms, prompting the expansion.

In Paraguay, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce’s Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) reported that over the past six months they assisted more than 880 micro, small and medium enterprises nationwide. The program helped increase sales by 2.043 billion guaraníes and secured over 13.35 billion guaraníes in capital, while creating about 100 new jobs. The initiative, funded by USAID and Taiwan’s ICDF, also supported the creation or expansion of 43 new ventures and processed 110 formalisation procedures, aiming to strengthen the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.