SMEs account for 80 percent of Banco Improsa’s client portfolio. The IIC’s first loan to Improsa, approved in 2000, enabled this bank to diversify its SME product range to include warehouse receipts, factoring, letters of credit, commodity pledges, and leasing, among other services. However, the general lack of long-term funding in Costa Rica limited Improsa’s ability to branch out into mortgage-backed loans. This new, longer-term loan from the IIC will enable Improsa to grant some 125 mortgage loans averaging $80,000. The benefits will radiate out into the construction sector, which accounts for nearly 4.5 percent of Costa Rica’s GDP, employs 7 percent of the nation’s workforce, and generates demand for goods and services related to the housing industry. Many of these services are provided by small and medium-size manufacturers and contractors.