Discover best practices and trends from the Latin American and Caribbean private sector shared by IDB Invest specialists in agribusiness, development impact, energy, financial institutions, transportation, and more.
Blog authors
-
María Alejandra Blanco-IturbeMaria Alejandra is a Sustainable Business and MSME Specialist in the Advisory Division at IDB Invest. She is responsible for supporting corporates and financial institutions to adopt sustainable models across their operations while helping drive and scale impact and meaningful contributions towards development. Prior joining the IDB Invest, she worked for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as focal point for LAC at the the Business Call to Action (BCtA) global inclusive platform, as well national advisor for the private sector and SDGs. She previously worked for Plan International developing and overseeing Human Rights projects in LAC and worked at the Ministry of Planning and Development in Venezuela advising bilateral and multilateral development programs. She earned a Master's Degree in Applied Political Studies from Fundación Internacional y para Iberoamérica de Políticas Públicas (FIIAPP), and a Bachelors' in Government and Politics from University of Maryland, College Park.
-
María Cecilia AcevedoMaria Cecilia Acevedo is a Lead Strategy Officer in the Strategy and Development Effectiveness Department at IDB Invest in Washington, DC. María Cecilia leads the preparation of country strategies for IDB Invest, in particular providing technical analysis by including the private sector perspective for Latin America and the Caribbean. María Cecilia conducts research on economic development issues, especially on the contribution of the private sector to the welfare of the population and the mechanisms through which market solutions are efficient to achieve this objective. A Colombian national, María Cecilia received her M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard University, and an M.A. in Economics from Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá.
-
María Cecilia Alvarez BolleaMaría Cecilia Alvarez Bollea is a Specialist in State Modernization in the Innovation to Serve Citizens Division (IFD/ICS) of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). María Cecilia leads the Anti-Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) agenda, and technical and operational support to IDB member countries for compliance and implementation of international standards in this matter. Maria Cecilia's work includes technical support to private sector entities to implement transparency and corporate integrity reforms, in light of good practices and international standards. Before joining the IDB, she was a Senior Attorney in the Legal and Compliance Department of Aes Argentina and Pampa Energía (Argentina) and was a member of the Integrity team of the United Nations Global Compact in New York. María Cecilia has a law degree from the National University of Córdoba (UNC) and has a Master's degree in International Relations from the University of Bologna, Italy and an LL.M. (Master of Law) from Fordham Law School, New York.
-
María Cecilia DezaMaría Cecilia Deza is a senior economist in the Country Department for Central America, Haiti, Mexico, Panama, and the Dominican Republic. Previously, she was a regional economist in the Andean Countries Department and a consultant in the IDB's Fiscal Management Division. Before joining the IDB, she worked as an economist at BBVA Bank in Peru and the same country's Ministry of Economy and Finance. She holds a B.A. in Economics from the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, an M.A. in Public Administration from Columbia University, and an M.A. in Applied Economics from the University of Maryland.
-
Maria Eduarda Gouvea BertoMaria Eduarda Gouvêa Berto is an economist with a master's degree in business administration (Pontifical Catholic University – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). She has more than two decades of professional experience, having worked in the private and public sectors and multilateral organizations. Since 2020, she has worked at the IDB's Water and Sanitation Division in Washington D.C. as a senior financial and institutional specialist. Previously, she worked a consultant for the International Finance Corporation on the PPP advisory team. She has worked for more than a decade structuring public-private partnerships in the infrastructure sectors in Brazil, with a particular focus on financial modeling and project finance. In 2017-2018 she held the position of Finance Secretary of the Municipality of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was also Managing Director of the Brazilian Project Structuring Company (EBP), a partnership between BNDES, Banco do Brasil, Itaú, Santander, Bradesco, Votorantim, Citibank and Haitong with the objective of advising governments on the structuring of projects infrastructure and mobilization of private capital (2014-2016).
-
Maria Isabel PalomerOperations Specialist of the Southern Cone Countries Department (CSC). The CSC Department develops and promotes strategies and programs with member countries and supports the execution of country-specific operations, among others. As Country Coordinator for Paraguay, she is responsible for supervising and supporting the fulfillment of the lending operations pipeline, monitoring portfolio performance, supporting the preparation of the Country Strategy, and ensuring coordination with the different operational areas of the Bank. She focuses on ensuring the efficiency and effectiveness of operations and generating public-private synergies to maximize the development impact of interventions. María Isabel is a Commercial Engineer and holds a Master's degree in Government and Public Management from the University of Chile. Previously, she worked as a Senior Operations Associate in the Chile Country Office, supporting the supervision of the execution and monitoring of projects in the Bank's portfolio.
-
María Laura LanzalotMaría Laura Lanzalot is the Development Effectiveness Officer of IDB Invest in Argentina. María Laura supports the identification, design, monitoring and evaluation of projects and investments in order to maximize their impact on economic, social and environmental development, with a focus on projects with financial institutions. Additionally, she contributes in the implementation of economic analysis, impact evaluations and testing of innovative solutions. Previously, she worked in the Department of Development Effectiveness in Washington DC. Her areas of interest are economic development, financial inclusion and applied economics. She has a master's degree in economics from the Universidad de San Andrés (UdeSA) and a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA).
-
María Lucrecia MongeMaría Lucrecia Monge is currently Commercial Director of Women's products at G&T Continental. She is responsible for the development of a holistic program, both internally and commercially, for SMEs led by women in Guatemala. María Lucrecia has worked in the construction industry, as Key Account Manager in the telecommunications industry and as Coordinator of an Entrepreneurship Center at the academy. Since 2015, she has been actively participating as an assistant professor in business, entrepreneurship and marketing courses for Business Administration, Psychology, Gastronomy and Entrepreneurship degree course at the Francisco Marroquín University. She is passionate about entrepreneurship and business as a driver of the local economy, a marketing enthusiast, an avid reader and a life-long learner. She has a Bachelor of Business Administration with a specialty in Marketing and an Acton MBA in Entrepreneurship, both from the Francisco Marroquín University.
-
María Noel-VaezaMaría Noel Vaeza is the director of UN Women for Latin America and the Caribbean.
-
María Paula GerardinoMaria Paula Gerardino Gutierrez is a Senior Economist in the Office of Strategic Planning and Development Effectiveness of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Maria Paula's work focuses on supporting the design and evaluation of projects, as well as conducting research and impact evaluations on different topics. Her current research focuses on issues related to gender gaps, access to credit for small and medium enterprises, productivity and labor markets. Maria Paula has a doctorate in economics from Pompeu Fabra University.
-
Mariana CoelloMariana is an Investment Officer at IDB Invest in Honduras, which she joined in 2017. She is responsible for developing new businesses and structuring sustainable projects in Honduras in sectors such as transportation, energy, water and sanitation, social infrastructure, agribusiness, telecommunications, media and technology, manufacturing, tourism and financial institutions. Before joining the IDB Group, she was Head of Corporate Business and SMEs in the credit area of Banco Ficensa, where she managed and structured projects in various sectors, acquiring more than fourteen years of experience in corporate banking. Mariana earned a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from Florida International University (USA) and two master’s degrees in business management and Public Management from Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana (UNITEC), and a professional degree in agribusiness administration engineering from Escuela Agrícola Panamericana (both in Honduras)
-
Marielle del ValleSenior Development Effectiveness Officer at IDB Invest. She works on the structuring, supervision and evaluation of projects with financial intermediaries and investments funds, and of trade finance operations, ensuring they promote social and economic benefits for the region. Prior to joining IDB Invest she worked as a consultant in the Office of Strategic Planning and Development Effectiveness and the Vice presidency of Countries of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and as senior economic specialist at the Central Bank of Peru.
