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
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Michelle ShayerMichelle Muhringer Shayer is a lawyer specialized in corporate sustainability management with an MBA in environmental management from the University of Sao Paulo. She works as a senior environmental and social specialist in the Social, Environment and Corporate Governance (ESG) Division at IDB Invest. Michelle currently coordinates the gender risk assessment process at IDB Invest. She has also worked in sustainable development in the private sector (mining, infrastructure, industrial, financial institutions, consultancies) and in non-profit organizations, and has more than 15 years of experience in assessing social impacts.
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Milagros RivasMilagros Rivas Saiz is Division Chief, Advisory Services, at IDB Invest, which she joined in 2021. She is responsible for leading the Climate Change, Gender and Inclusion, SME Development, Digitalization, and Public-Private Partnerships areas. Before joining the IDB Group, Milagros worked for the International Finance Corporation as Global Head of Strategy Director and Global Head of Advisory Services, a position in which she helped develop highly sustainable projects and open markets to private investment. Previously, she was an Executive Committee member of Acciona Energía. Milagros has extensive experience in consulting, from her work at McKinsey & Co. Milagros earned a master’s degree in civil engineering from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (Spain). https://www.linkedin.com/in/milagros-rivas-saiz/
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Milena Correia CafruniMilena Correia Cafruni is a Social and Environmental Officer at IDB Invest. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Social Sciences from the University of São Paulo and a Master's degree in International Cooperation and Development from La Sapienza University of Rome. Milena has been working since 2014 with issues of identification and management of social impacts and stakeholder engagement. At IDB Invest, she acts as focal point in the identification and management of gender risks in DSP/SEG.
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Mónica BallesterosMonica is a Public Policy Consultant for The Economist Intelligence Unit, the research arm of the Economist Group. Monica is the project manager for the Global Microscope, an index that assesses the environment enabling financial inclusion in 55 countries across the world. Prior to her work at the EIU, Mónica was part of the G20 team at the Mexican Ministry of Finance, where she focused on the financial inclusion agenda. She also worked for a strategic consulting firm in Mexico, where she designed and implemented communication and crisis management strategies. Monica has a Master's degree in International Affairs from Tufts University, where she majored in international finance and development economics. She has a BA in Political Science from Wellesley College.
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Mónica LandaetaAs funding and capital market expert at IDB Invest, she structures and executes IDB Invest bond issuances in global capital markets and implements investor relationship activities. Prior joining the IDB Group, she worked for ten years in different roles at Latin-American Development Bank (CAF) and Central Bank of Venezuela, including funding officer, operation officer, short term and foreign exchange trader. Miss Landaeta holds a graduate degree in Finance and Business Management from Escuela de Organization Industrial EOI – Spain, and Georgetown University, USA, respectively.
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Mónica NavarreteMónica is an Investment Officer at IDB Invest, responsible for leading transactions in the Agribusiness sector in Central America and the Caribbean. Mónica has more than 16 years of experience in banking and finance in Latin America and the Caribbean, twelve of them in the IDB Group, leading and structuring complex transactions with clients in Latin America and the Caribbean, especially in sectors such as Agribusiness, Energy, Manufacturing and Financial Institutions. Before joining the IDB Group, Mónica served as Financial Planning Manager at Digicel Group El Salvador and held the position of Risk Officer at Citigroup N.A. Mónica studied Industrial and Systems Engineering at Tec de Monterrey (ITESM, in Mexico) and has master's degrees in Business Administration (MBA) from Thunderbird (USA), and in Finance from the business school at Tec de Monterey (EGADE, in Mexico).
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Monica PalominoMonica Palomino is a Development Effectiveness Consultant in the Development Effectiveness Division at IDB Invest. She supports the implementation of the Impact Management Framework, ensuring that IDB Invest operations deliver social, environmental, and economic benefits across Latin America and the Caribbean, with a particular focus on the Andean Region. Previously, Monica worked at Financiera de Desarrollo Territorial (Findeter), Colombia’s national development bank. She holds a Master’s in Public Policy from the London School of Economics and both a Master’s and Bachelor’s in Economics from Universidad de los Andes, Colombia.
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Mónica SalazarMónica is an Investment Management Officer in the Equity & Mezzanine Finance Team at IDB Invest, which she joined in 2017. She is responsible of sourcing, selecting, originating, structuring, closing and supporting the supervision of the equity and mezzanine transactions (including venture capital), across all sectors of IDB Invest. Before joining the IDB Group, she worked as an Investment Analyst in the Private Equity Division of the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF, in Spanish), performing financial analysis and portfolio valuations of direct investments and private equity funds (approx. $600 million of AUM). She also has experience in project assessment in the financial and energy sectors in Venezuela. Mónica earned a master’s degree in Economic Development and Growth from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain) and has an undergraduate degree in Business Economics from Universidad Metropolitana, in Caracas (Venezuela).
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Musheer KamauMusheer is senior advisor for strategy and blended finance at IDB Invest, where he leads strategic initiatives to mobilize private capital and to revitalize dormant programs into active deployment vehicles. Previously, as principal specialist in the Caribbean Country Department, he spent nearly 20 years designing frameworks for infrastructure finance, faster payment systems, and working capital solutions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
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Nadine CavosogluNadine Cavusoglu is Head of Private Sector Programs at EMIA
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Natalia TorresNatália is an Investment Management Officer for Gender, Diversity & Inclusion at IDB Invest, which she joined in 2020. She is responsible for supporting and advising clients on Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) strategies. Before joining the IDB Group, Natália has worked at global non-profit organizations, such as World Vision and WEConnect International, and at the United Nation Development Programme (UNDP), where she was allocated under a project with Brazilian Micro and Small Business Support Service (SEBRAE). She has worked for the past nine years with social-economic inclusion projects, focused on underrepresented and underprivileged groups, especially women and low-income entrepreneurs in Brazil and other Latin American countries. Natália holds a bachelor's degree in International Relations from the São Paulo State University (UNESP), a master's degree in Sustainable Development from the Escuela de Organización Industrial de Madrid (EOI) and master's degree in Public Policies, Strategy & Development from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ).
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Natasha RichardsonNatasha Richardson is the IDBG Regional Private Sector Coordinator for the Caribbean Region. Natasha has worked in private sector development for the past 23 years in a variety of roles both with development finance institutions and directly with a private sector company. A dual citizen of Jamaica and Canada, Natasha holds a Master of Business Administration from the Ivey Business School – Western University and an H.B.A. from the University of Toronto with a specialization in International Relations and a minor in Spanish.
