Isabel is a Gender, Diversity and Inclusion Officer at IDB Invest, where she joined in 2019. Isabel is responsible for designing and executing advisory services for deals in the financial and corporate institutions sectors. She has led advisory engagements to support clients in their diversity and gender inclusion strategies, with an emphasis on the inclusion of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples throughout the value chain and in the workforce. Before joining the IDB Group, Isabel worked for General Electric in the energy business and at the Pan American Development Foundation in the execution of projects for the development with identity of indigenous peoples. Isabel earned a master's degree in development studies from the Elliott School at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She also has a bachelor's degree from the Universidad Iberoamericana Mexico.
Women's leadership and entrepreneurial spirit are mostly untapped opportunities. Fintechs, microfinance companies, cooperatives, and commercial and development banks in Latin America and the Caribbean are exploring ways to better serve women entrepreneurs.
To achieve development with identity and create value for indigenous peoples and the private sector, sustainability specialists in companies can access tools that facilitate co-creation and ensure that their business model and/or productive initiatives respect indigenous identity and create shared value for all involved.
The Mexican fintech Konfío is eliminating gender bias by using fair algorithms to make lending decisions based only on applicants’ credit risk. A new IDB Invest study that measures the impact of a Konfío loan on company sales shows that women-led businesses have the most to gain.
Inclusive supply chains that integrate women suppliers, mainly women-led or -owned SMEs, drive economic growth, employment and business benefits, while creating an opportunity to build partner loyalty and offer new perspectives and ideas for innovation.
Based on the IDB Group’s track record with supporting women’s economic empowerment, here are four overarching lessons with a focus on private sector initiatives. Some may seem obvious at first glance, but there are still many institutions, both public and private, that don’t consider women´s particular needs.
Six months after the launch of one of the first loan programs linked to results and entrepreneur training in Central America, companies owned and led by women are already reporting new access to financing via BAC Credomatic El Salvador.