About G&T Continental
A subsidiary of Grupo Financiero G&T Continental, which comprises one of the largest banks in Guatemala and has a presence in three other Central American countries, G&T Continental entered the Salvadorian market in 2006. The bank has a strong focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and offers a range of specialized services. With a 25 percent market share of the SME segment in El Salvador, G&T has achieved its position as a market leader with personalized and high-quality customer service. The bank has 12 branches, employs 276 staff members – 59 percent of whom are women – and has a portfolio of more than $300 million with deposits of $360 million.
The Program
In 2013, G&T launched a credit product that specifically targets women-owned SMEs, with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The program, called G&T Mujer, provides a value-add service to the credit product and supports customers through business development services, training and access to markets. The bank developed an online portal to give women entrepreneurs the opportunity to create a business network and increase their market exposure with minimal expenditures. The portal also allows women entrepreneurs to promote their products and buy and sell from each other to increase their access to new markets. Today, approximately 40 percent of G&T’s 16,000 customers are women.