According to IFC website, the project’s main objective is to support SME lending through a key financial intermediary, Banco Bradesco S.A.. Addressing the lack of access to finance for SMEs is a strategic priority for IFC as it is a clearly identified constraint to shared prosperity and poverty reduction observed in many emerging economies. The Project will continue to support an existing relationship between IFC and Bradesco, one of the most solid financial groups in Latin America and that has deep footprint in the Brazilian economy.

Further, it aims to close the country's wide SME finance gap by enabling Bradesco to offer financing options to small and medium size enterprises organized under the APL (Arranjos Produtivos Locais). It will enhance financial connectivity within the SME financing market and thus strengthen the SME value chain by demonstrating to other lenders operational efficiency gained through the partnership with APLs.

Project Impact - Stakeholders: The Project aims to close the country's wide SME finance gap by enabling Bradesco to offer financing options to small and medium size enterprises ("SMEs") organized under the APL (Arranjos Produtivos Locais). Bradesco has a strong track record of serving clients across the country, including regions such as the North and Northeast of Brazil.

Market Impact - Integration: The Project will enhance financial connectivity within the SME financing market and thus strengthen the SME value chain by demonstrating to other lenders operational efficiency gained through the partnership with APLs.

There is often limited information publicly available about what development banks are funding through financial intermediaries. In 2021, the Early Warning System partnered with Oxfam International to incorporate information on high-risk projects being funded by financial intermediaries receiving funding from the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Dutch Development Bank (FMO).

The information listed below describes the relationship between the different private actors linked to high-risk sectors and subprojects of IFC and FMO's financial intermediary investments and/or the financial intermediary's parent companies made from 2017 through 2020, including any associated ring fences.

The database, however, does not explicitly or implicitly imply that IFC or FMO have material exposure to or are contractually or legally accountable to the sub-projects financed by their financial intermediaries or the financial intermediary's parent companies. It only shows a seemingly financial relationship among the different private actors, the financial intermediaries, and IFC or FMO.

An extended list of private actors is available in a separate file. 

Bradesco was founded in 1943, and currently the Bank is one of the largest banks in Brazil. Bradesco has one of the wider reach of branches across the country, and an important presence within the North and Northeast regions of Brazil. Bradesco has its shares traded in the B3, and the ownership structure is as follow: Bradesco Foundation (49.2%), the BBD Participações S.A. (management employees) (13.4%), the Aguiar family (11.2%), and the free float (26.2%).      

Banco Bradesco S.A.
Investor Relations Department
Telephone No.: +55 0800 701 1616
Email Address: investidores@bradesco.com.br
Office Address: Cidade de Deus, s/nº, Prédio Vermelho, 3º andar. Vila Yara, Osasco, SP. Brazil
Website: www.bradescori.com.br

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IFC

The Compliance Advisor Ombudsman (CAO) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who believe they are likely to be, or have been, adversely affected by an IFC or MIGA- financed project. If you submit a complaint to the CAO, they may assist you in resolving a dispute with the company and/or investigate to assess whether the IFC is following its own policies and procedures for preventing harm to people or the environment. If you want to submit a complaint electronically, you can email the CAO at CAO@worldbankgroup.org. You can learn more about the CAO and how to file a complaint at http://www.cao-ombudsman.org/