Historical series Itaú Unibanco raises R$ 2 billion in financial bonds to support women’s entrepreneurship
It is the largest fundraising in the Brazilian capital market focused on gender. Resources will be directed to finance small and medium-sized companies led by women
São Paulo, February 2, 2023 – Itaú Unibanco issued R$ 2 billion in Social Bonds in the local market to support female entrepreneurship in Brazil. Of this total, R$ 1 billion was raised with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, and a second round, of another R$ 1 billion, was raised in the market. The resources will be directed to finance small and medium-sized companies led by women, and part of them will be directed to companies located in the North and Northeast regions of the country.
The transaction was made under the bank’s Sustainable Finance Framework, a document that defines the guidelines for issuing green, social and sustainable bonds. In addition, the transaction integrates the ESG agenda of Itaú Unibanco, one of the pioneering institutions in the adoption of these practices in Brazil, and will work with the Itaú Mulher Empreendedora Program, which supports and fosters the development of businesses led by women through acceleration initiatives and training and networking programs. The program mark its tenth anniversary in 2023 and was started in partnership with the IFC.
“The issuance of Financial Bonds linked to social issues reflects not only our commitment to generating positive impact, but also the growing appetite of investors for this type of debt security. This was the largest operation in the Brazilian capital market focused on gender issues,” says Daniel Goretti, Itaú Unibanco’s Treasury Director.
Luciana Nicola, Director of Institutional Relations and Sustainability at Itaú Unibanco, points out that women, when they become entrepreneurs, “generate a positive impact not only on the businesses they run and the people they employ, but also on their entire environment, such as the family and the community”.