· Women entrepreneurs will be able to access loans from 50,000 to 5 million pesos, he said.

· He announced the expansion of Popular Insurance Scheme coverage to support the care of women with ovarian cancer. As of today, it will cover the entire diagnosis and treatment of these cases.

·  He led the celebration of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women.

Earlier today, President Enrique Peña Nieto announced the SME Women Program,  designed by the development banks of the Mexican state, the National Institute of Entrepreneurship and the National Institute for Women, the goal of which is to grant loans on preferential terms to women entrepreneurs and for this to contribute their achieving their financial autonomy.

This program, he added, gives women economic independence, “and that is what we want, for them to feel that they have a sphere of freedom and personal fulfillment that will enable them to destroy any constraints imposed on them.”

He explained that the SME Women Program provides support ranging from 50,000 to five million peso loans, to lower rates than those charged by commercial banks on such loans, and with more favorable timescales, “so that women can develop and undertake their projects.”

Today, opening up greater spaces of access to credit will allow women to start their own projects, their own business, without fear. “Don’t be scared: you will have the mechanisms and support to be able to carry them out, and I'm sure women will prove that it is possible to carry out any project they set out to undertake,” he said.

During the commemoration of International Women’s Day, the president said that this administration has not only devoted more resources to the actions carried out by the various government agencies to support women, but has also established specific programs and supported productive projects geared towards women.

He explained that the budget for this year designed to promote equality for women is 54 percent higher than 2012, rising from 16.7 billion to 25.9 billion pesos this year.

He stressed that, “There has been increasing public investment from the resources the government allocates from various departments and the programs designed for women and to support gender equality.”

President Peña Nieto also announced the expansion of Popular Insurance Scheme coverage to support the care of women with ovarian cancer. “As of today, it will cover the entire diagnosis and treatment of cases of ovarian cancer.”

The president recalled that among the reforms promoted in this administration, a new law was established to ensure that women have greater scope for participation in politics in our country, as a result of which half the candidacies for the Federal Congress and the local congresses of all political parties are held by women.

As a result, he added, “Congresses, “Have a greater presence and representation of women.”

EMPOWERED WOMEN AND GIRLS ARE THE BEST ACCELERATOR FOR EQUALITY: LORENA CRUZ

President of the National Women's Institute (INMUJERES), Lorena Cruz declared that, “Empowered women and girls are the best accelerator for equality; they are the real factor of change, the way to promote protection against the breakdown of the social fabric, and the solution to poverty.

Stressing that social programs should be tailored to women’s needs to promote their economic independence, she said that the SME Women Program, “Is not only a program that grants loans,” but, according to the instructions of President Peña Nieto, is designed, “To eliminate these inequality gaps between male and female employers. We are talking about more than two million employers in our country, only 20 percent of whom are women.”

He explained that, “In order to achieve the prosperous Mexico to which we aspire, we need women to participate on equal terms in the labor market, generate their own income, and have the resources to be able to develop their talents and abilities.”

“When we bet on women, we bet on the development of the country and the development of families. Because when a woman is in a decision-making position, when a woman runs a business, she will invariably support other women and always will think of the benefits  for her own family and the benefits for her workers’ families,” he said.

SME WOMEN POSSIBLE THANKS TO STRUCTURAL REFORMS: LOZANO DE LA TORRE

Governor of Aguascalientes Carlos Lozano de la Torre said that support for women entrepreneurs, through the SME Women Program, which is unprecedented in Mexico, has been made possible by structural reforms, particularly the Financial and Fiscal Reforms, which have allowed access to cheaper credit, encouraged formality and created more jobs with social security.

He told President Peña Nieto: “These are the concrete results and benefits your government’s structural reforms have implemented, as long-term rather than situational measures, to achieve a permanent, sweeping transformation of Mexico, its regions and all the conditions of inequality that curb and limit national development.”

He also thanked the government because it is strengthening its commitment to Mexico by making gender equality a cross-cutting policy to expand women's access to justice, safer cities, social services and economic empowerment.

“A good sign that Mexico is on the right track is provided by the president’s accompaniment of the efforts of Mexican men and women, so that they can achieve and write their own story of success.”

WOMEN WILL PLAY A KEY ROLE IN THE TRANSFORMATION OF SOCIETY: BERNAL GONZÁLEZ

María del Carmen Bernal González, Mexico’s representative at the W20, the Women’s Chapter of the Group of 20, said the key role women play in transforming society lies in the collaborative and inclusive attitude between men and women.

She said the SME Women program will not only benefit Aguascalientes, or the Bajío region, but the entire country, and hoped that this would send a very positive, constructive message to the world that in Mexico we are in favor of these issues.

Bernal González, who is also the director of the Research Center for Women in Senior Management at the IPADE Business School, welcomed the launch of the SME Women Program because it was one of the points on the work agenda agreed at the W20, within the framework of last year’s G20 Summit in Turkey.

”This initiative shows that different actors of society need to work together: the Federal Government, of course, women, family, education. And this would not be possible without everyone's work."

She considered it important to open up opportunities for joint collaboration, “So that together, we can continue to transform our country” and stated that Mexicans worldwide, “Are very well regarded and in these issues, we have enormous scope for collaboration.”

MEXICO IS NOTED FOR ITS MACROECONOMIC BASES, INCLUDING ITS STRONG, EXPANDING FINANCIAL SYSTEM: BANAMEX

Director of the Small and Medium Enterprises Department of the National Bank of Mexico Ileana Maya Reza said that financial reform has given a big boost to credit for micro, small and medium enterprises.

“As a result of the recognition of the complementary role of development banking and commercial banking, there has been a substantial increase in the resources channeled to this important sector of the economy, mainly through various programs and schemes with economic momentum, in which Nacional Financiera plays a fundamental role,” she added.

She said that the joint work of the authorities, development banking and commercial banks meant that in 2015, 520 billion pesos were channeled into the segment of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

She said that today, “Mexico is noted for its macroeconomic fundamentals, particularly its solid, expanding financial system, with a credit growth rate between three and four times the GDP for these past fifteen years.” Moreover, “All the credit circuits have increased credit and nonperforming loan indicators remain low, indicating that there is healthy, sustainable growth, within a financial system that is distinguished by its strength and dynamism.”

She confirmed this financial group’s commitment to SMEs in Mexico and, “To venturing into innovative financing schemes such as the Business Women’s Program, in which we grant financing for up to five million pesos with preferential conditions, both as regards term and fixed rates, noting that, “A society with greater gender equity increases its potential for growth, development and welfare.”

WOMEN ARE  ALSO THE FUTURE OF MEXICO: BUSINESSWOMAN

Needing a cash flow in order not to lose a business she has in Zacatecas, Blanca Judith Mejía Gonzalez, a businesswoman from Aguascalientes, found out about the SME Women Program, and according to her testimonial, in less than a week, she was able to obtain a loan that allowed her to continue with her projects.

She encouraged those wishing to be entrepreneurs or to start a business to request this support from the government, “Because we now have much more support than my mother did 25 years ago.”