Nacional Financiera (Nafin), a development bank established in 1934, offers credit to women entrepreneurs in Mexico with specific financial products.

The bank operates under the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) and is incorporating gender into credit products to help women entrepreneurs develop their businesses. 

Specifically, Nafin has introduced two financial products aimed at women entrepreneurs: Mujeres Empresarias and Mujeres Régimen de Incorporación Fiscal (RIF)-Crezcamos Juntas (Let’s Grow Together). 

Both offer loans on preferential terms to foster the growth and competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises owned by women. 

On the one hand, Mujeres Empresarias offers women-owned businesses up to 5 million pesos for the acquisition of working capital and fixed assets. 

According to Mexican government information, no collateral is required for loans of up to 2.5 million pesos. 

On the other hand, Mujeres RIF-Crezcamos Juntas is aimed at RIF-registered women and offers loans of up to 300,000 pesos for the acquisition of working capital and fixed assets. 

Both products have nationwide coverage. 

Women entrepreneurs

Between 2015 and 2021, 20,234 loans were granted for a total amount of 26,184 million pesos. 

Of the loans granted, 16,152 went to women-led businesses. 

One of the challenges posed by the introduction of these financial products was their acceptance by commercial banks. 

To solve this problem, participating banks were sensitized to the need for differentiated financial products for women entrepreneurs and specific statistics were used. 

The most important success factors were the political will that made it possible to coordinate national institutions; the creation of new partnerships between national agencies and private banks; and having well-established local institutions, including commercial banks.

SMEs

On March 10, 2022, the Ministry of Tourism, Nafin, and Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior (Bancomext) launched a new stage of the financing program, which will provide SMEs with access to financing through a network of Bancomext and Nafin financial intermediaries that support working capital, fixed asset acquisition, and technological and environmental improvements.