Santander and Chihuahua announce alliance to boost SMEs

CHIHUAHUA - The Government of Chihuahua and Banco Santander Mexico formalized an alliance to promote small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the state, through the signing of two collaboration agreements.

The agreements were signed by the Secretary of Innovation and Economic Development, Manque Granados Trespalacios; the Executive Director of Financial Inclusion at Santander Mexico, Norma Castro; and the Deputy General Director of the bank's Commercial Network, Juan Villafuerte. The agreements include preferential offers and the expansion of financial inclusion through the Tuiio initiative.

During the protocolary event, Santander authorities highlighted the Bank's commitment to provide the entity with a differentiated offer tailored to local SMEs, with the purpose of strengthening everything from start-ups to medium-sized companies in the process of consolidation, not only with preferential conditions, but also with support and courses on a variety of topics such as technology and Nearshoring.

In particular, the agreement to promote financial inclusion is aimed at women, indigenous groups, artisans and people engaged in self-employment in the state of Chihuahua. Through Tuiio, Santander's financial inclusion initiative, they will be offered financing schemes to accompany them in their ventures, providing access to financial services and education, with the purpose of generating social impact and improving their quality of life, with a scheme that recognizes their possibilities and helps their progress.

In this sense, it was announced that Tuiio will open its first branches in Chihuahua in early 2024, thus initiating its presence in the north of the country, which endorses Santander's commitment to being and doing responsible banking.

"This alliance complements the efforts made by the State Government to promote the growth of entrepreneurs and businessmen, in terms of training and financing. Through the Directorate of Entrepreneurship and Business Development, and FIDEAPECH, we continue to promote initiatives like this, which allow us to multiply our reach and make Chihuahua a more competitive region," said Granados Trespalacios.

With these agreements, Santander seeks to support and contribute to the growth of the most important sector in the country, the sector of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, which generates about 50% of GDP and more than 70% of employment in Mexico.

Currently, Santander works with more than 1,500 accredited SMEs with a total of US$271 million in the state, and through this collaboration it expects to reach at least 1,800 in the next 3 years, reaffirming its confidence and commitment to become the bank for SMEs in Chihuahua.

The financial institution will provide SMEs and microentrepreneurs with preferential credit conditions, with the support and specialized training of Santander executives. For this purpose, two solutions were created: one for entrepreneurs, micro and small companies, and the other for medium-sized companies. This will offer a credit proposal with no origination fee, discounts on rates, including the transactional part, electronic banking, as well as checking accounts, point-of-sale terminals, payroll offers, cashback and insurance, all at preferential prices.

Santander expects to serve some 600 companies during the first year, from start-ups to the most consolidated, with an expected credit volume of US$110 million.