Program run by Samarco supported more than 500 businesses and stands out for the favorable conditions offered to local entrepreneurs

The Diversifica Mariana Fund offered over BRL 87.6 million in credit for businesses in the municipality, through March 2026, benefiting 497 local enterprises, with around 700 financing agreements signed. The initiative directly and indirectly supported 3,109 jobs in Mariana, contributing to the diversification and strengthening of the local economy. The Fund is part of the set of remediation actions carried out by Samarco in the context of the New Rio Doce Agreement.

The Fund had strong participation and commitment from the business community in Mariana, reflected in the program's financial indicators. The repayment rate reached 96%, while the percentage of contracts overdue by more than 90 days was only 3.9%. “This performance allowed the Fund to operate as a revolving mechanism, in which repaid amounts returned to the program and were reinvested in new credit operations,” explains Samarco's Transition coordinator, Paula Braga.

The financing conditions, operated by the Minas Gerais Development Bank (BDMG), were designed especially for Mariana's economic reality, with rates below the market average. Interest rates started at 0.37% per month, with repayment terms of up to 24 months and a grace period of up to six months before repayment begins.

The program focused on micro, small and medium-sized businesses, with annual revenue of up to BRL 30 million, serving different segments of the local economy, such as commerce, services and small industries. The average loan amount per contract was BRL 133,200.00.

“Diversifica Mariana was an important tool for strengthening the local economy. BDMG worked to offer interest rates and terms suited to Mariana's reality, which resulted in strong acceptance from the business community and a positive return of resources to the Fund,” says Sarah de Castro, manager of the BDMG Municipalities Superintendency.

Continuity

Currently, Samarco has completed the transition obligation established in the New Agreement by transferring the remaining resources to BDMG, which remains in charge of managing the fund, and which will be renamed “Avança Mariana”, with the focus remaining on supporting local entrepreneurs and expanding access to credit in the municipality.

"Seeing our territory advance is a goal of our management, and the stronger the development of our local economy, the more it means we have a strong income-diversifying factor. Diversifica now gives way to a new moment, Avança Mariana, a new look that will bring just as positive a dynamic,” says the Municipal Secretary of Economic Diversification, Technology and Innovation, Pedro Mol.

Remediation under the New Rio Doce Agreement

Support for entrepreneurship is one of the fronts of socioeconomic remediations, carried out by Samarco, as part of the Transition set out in the New Rio Doce Agreement. More than BRL 198 million was allocated to this front, with a focus on rebuilding productive capacities and strengthening the local economies of the Rio Doce Basin.

More information about the remediation actions is available at: www.samarco.com/reparacao.