Madrid, July 12, 2018. After supporting Grupo Opticalia in its establishment and consolidation in Colombia, COFIDES will help the company again with its expansion in Mexico.

To this end, COFIDES will contribute 3 million euros through a co-investment instrument taken from the FONPYME fund and COFIDES´s own resources (50%).  This financing will support Opticalia´s business plan during its first years in Mexico, based on the launch of advertising campaigns to boost its establishment in this country.

Opticalia Mexico already has 70 members and plans to reach 1000 by the end of 2023. The company has six workers in the country and it is considering the creation of new jobs.

According to the AMFECCO, the Mexican Association of Faculties, Schools, Colleges and Councils of Optometry, in 2016, 43% of the Mexican population (52 million people) needed ophthalmic and optometric services, but only 15 million of them went to see an expert. Thus, nearly 70% of the market is not being served. In addition to this, the demand of ophthalmology products and services in Mexico has increased in recent years, a fact that shows the great growth potential of this sector in the country. 

FIRST OPERATION WITH CRECE+ INTERNACIONAL

This is the first operation carried out by COFIDES using its new product, Crece+ International, created to promote the growth of SMEs through its internationalisation plans, supporting the establishment of companies in new markets or in markets in which they are already present.

After signing the agreement between COFIDES and Opticalia, COFIDES´s Chairman, Salvador Marín, stated that "the financing offered by COFIDES to companies in their international expansion also favours the consolidation of their parent company in Spain".

Francisco José Mora, the Economic and International Subsidiaries Corporate Director, stressed COFIDES´s flexibility to adapt a financial product to fit the financial structure necessary for the development of a particular internationalisation project.

Grupo Opticalia specialises in the purchase, sale, marketing and distribution of optical products and sunglasses. Its business model is based on the association of optics professionals and the sale of exclusive brands. Opticalia offers its clients a great variety of products which complement its supply and which position the company in the sector through mass advertising campaigns of major fashion brands, which makes the company different from its competitors.

COFIDES is a public-private company which has been offering financial support to Spanish companies investing abroad since 1988. It is the exclusive manager of FIEX and FONPYME funds on behalf of the Secretariat of State for Trade attached to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism. Shareholders include Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), Banco Santander, Banco Popular, Banco Sabadell and CAF-Development Bank of Latin America.