Construtora Norberto Odebrecht (CNO or the company), founded in 1945 in the northeastern state of Bahia, Brazil, is one of the leading Brazilian heavy construction and engineering company in Latin America, and the world leader in hydroelectric dam engineering. Geographically, CNO undertakes projects in all regions of Brazil as well as in South America, Central America, Portugal, the United States and Angola. CNO is a subsidiary of Odebrecht S.A. (ODB), one of the ten largest Brazilian private-sector conglomerates in terms of revenues and Brazil’s leading service exporter, employing almost 30,000 workers. Since it was founded in 1945, CNO has expanded its operations into 13 countries in Africa, Europe, and the Americas. The project consists of a corporate loan of up to $25 million to support the development of CNO’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) suppliers and subcontractors in Brazil, Venezuela, Peru, Ecuador and Dominican Republic and other Latin American countries where the company currently has operations or is expected to win contracts in the near future (the countries). It will help CNO fund its prepayment financing (advances) to SMEs and will also have a strong capacity-building component, leading to a long-term cooperation and partnership between the SMEs and CNO, including the provision of direct or indirect technical assistance to the SMEs to help introduce financial, environmental, health and safety, social and engineering best practices.