About the blog

Marta Viegas

Marta Viegas is director of corporate governance at IDB Invest, based in Washington, D.C. Before joining IDB Invest, she practiced law for almost 20 years in Brazil and in the United States and received recognition as a leading lawyer in the most important legal rankings such as Chambers, Latin Lawyer and Legal 500. She held two consecutive terms at the Brazilian Institute of Corporate Governance, where she coordinated the creation of the Brazilian Corporate Governance Code. She served on the audit committee and fiscal council of one of the largest private pension companies in Brazil, with more than $60 billion worth of assets under management. She has a law degree from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de São Paulo and a master's degree in law and business from the Pritzker School of Law at Northwestern University and the Kellogg School of Management.

Martina Improta

Martina Improta is a Consultant in the Development Effectiveness Division at IDB Invest where she supports the structuring, monitoring and evaluation of transactions in the agribusiness sector. She also contributes to the organization’s knowledge agenda through the design and implementation of studies and impact evaluations of innovative projects. She previously worked at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome and she holds a Master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins University (SAIS).

Mary Kate Currey

Mary Kate Currey joined the United Nations Global Compact in 2019 and is currently an Associate on the Sustainable Ocean Business Action Platform. The Action Platform convenes leading companies, governments, NGOs and UN agencies to determine how the ocean and ocean industries can deliver on all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Mary Kate holds a Bachelors of Arts in Human Rights from Columbia University.

Maryline Penedo

Maryline Penedo is currently a Principal Officer in IDB Invest’s Development Impact Division. With extensive experience in impact measurement across various sectors, she has been pivotal in conceptualizing and positioning IDB Invest’s Impact Management Framework, particularly its DELTA scoring tool. Since 2019, she has spearheaded the consolidation and automation of IDB Invest’s impact monitoring system, enabling the institution to better understand and enhance its impact performance at both the portfolio and sectoral/country levels. She also worked in Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic on economic empowerment initiatives for women through IDB Lab, the Millennium Development Goals Achievement Fund, and UN Women. Maryline joined the IDB Group as a Young Professional in 2013. She holds a MS in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a MA in International Affairs from Sciences Po Paris in France, and is a former Fulbright scholar.

Matilde Peñagaricano

Matilde is Investment Officer in Financial Institutions at IDB Invest, where she joined in 2017. Matilde is responsible for the relationship with the Uruguayan financial market, while originating and structuring transactions with Financial Intermediaries of the Southern Cone and expanding access to financial services throughout the region. Within the IDB Group, her focus is the structuring of sustainable finance operations. She has participated in sovereign guaranteed operations and technical assistance, as well as in loan transactions, capital markets and capital investments that promote access to financing for SMEs, financial inclusion, women's empowerment and climate change mitigation. Before joining IDB Invest, he worked at the IDB Group both at the IDB public window and at the IDB Lab. He was a Credit Analyst at Itaú Unibanco and Research Assistant at the renowned think tank of the Center for the Study of Economic and Social Reality (CERES), among others. Matilde has a Master's degree in Public Administration from the University of Glasgow (Scotland), as well as a Master's degree in Finance and a Bachelor's degree in Economics from the University of the Republic (Uruguay).

Matthieu Pegon

Matthieu leads the Blended Finance Team at IDB Invest, which he joined in 2017. He is responsible for managing concessional resources that are invested in transformational projects where risks are too high for commercial finance alone. He is the IDB Group’s focal point for blended finance issues. Before joining the IDB Group, Matthieu worked as Structured Finance Senior Specialist for the Green Climate Fund, the largest multilateral climate finance fund. He also worked at BNP Paribas as Vice President in Structured Debt Capital Markets with a focus on Latin America and the Caribbean. Matthieu earned a master’s degree and a bachelor's degree in finance from Grenoble École de Management (France).

Mattia Chiapello

Mattia Chiapello is a Development Impact Officer at IDB Invest, where he supports the design, monitoring, and evaluation of projects to ensure they deliver measurable impact across Latin America and the Caribbean. With extensive experience in data analysis and knowledge management, Mattia specializes in evidence-based practices and strategic learning to strengthen institutional accountability, improve project results, and foster innovation in development projects. Mattia holds a Master’s degree in Economics and Social Sciences from Bocconi University.

Mauricio Ayala

Mauricio is an Officer in the Climate and Environment Division of IDB Invest, where he joined in 2024, after being an Advisory Services Officer in the Public Private Partnerships team for more than 6 years. Her work consists of actively supporting private corporations in the development of sustainable and bankable infrastructure and corporate projects. Prior to joining the IDB Group, he worked for more than three years as Legal and Economic Advisor to the Vice Minister of Finance and Public Credit in Colombia. He also worked as an attorney at Duran & Osorio Abogados, a Colombian law firm that focuses on infrastructure projects. He has extensive experience in the structuring and evaluation of PPP projects, particularly in Colombia, but also in the rest of the Latin American region. Mauricio holds a Master of Laws degree from Columbia University in New York (USA), and a double degree in Law and Economics from Universidad de los Andes (Colombia).

Mauricio Jimenez Pijoan

Mauricio Jimenez Pijoan has more than eight years of experience in strategic consulting in the Consumer Goods, Retail, Automotive, and Financial Services sectors. He has led the definition and implementation of business and digital strategies for leading companies in these markets in several countries in Europe and America. Currently, he leads the strategy consulting practice for the industrial sector at NTT DATA Mexico.

Mauro de la Vega

Mercedes Gárate

Mercedes Garate is an industrial engineer specializing in industrial organization by the ETSII-UPM in Madrid; she is director of the strategic consulting practice for the hospitality, Transport & Leisure line at NTTdata in Spain. She has more than 15 years of work experience, having developed transformational projects and strategic thinking in the field of land and air transport for public clients such as Renfe, Metro de Madrid, Metro de Barcelona, AENA, or Enaire or private clients such as Iberia or IAG group.

Michelle Espinach

Michelle Espinach, Sustainable Banking Manager at Banco Promerica Costa Rica, leads all initiatives related to the bank's strategy to contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Those include, among others, financing structures for new products, preaching with the example and measure the impact of all the efforts that the bank and its staff are putting into the sustainable strategy. One of her objectives is for Banco Promerica to become the first Costa Rican bank to issue green or sustainable bonds.