Funding from the IIC under this operation will be placed through two components: a $4 million provision via a traditional IIC loan agreement, and a $2 million provision via a syndicated loan of approximately $50 million in which various banks and international financial institutions will participate. In both cases, IIC funds will be used to provide long-term financing to SMEs in Ecuador for trade, working capital, and medium- or long-term loans to modernize or expand these companies. It is estimated that the loans made with proceeds from the IIC loan will range from $100,000 to $500,000, so some twenty or twenty-five medium-size export-oriented Ecuadorian companies will benefit from this operation. The IIC is one of the few multilateral institutions that work to foster environmental awareness, environmental protection programs, and compliance with labor and worker protection regulations by providing training to financial institutions that receive IIC funds. Representatives from Banco de Guayaquil have attended the IIC’s environmental risk management course, and the bank has, under this new loan agreement, committed to monitor beneficiary company compliance with domestic and international environmental protection, labor, and worker safety regulations and standards.