About the blog

Pablo Vargas

Investment Officer, Central America, and the Dominican Republic. Financial Institutions. Pablo is an Investment Officer on IDB Invest's Financial Institutions team, with extensive experience in project structuring and financing for the region over $600 million in IDB Invest and syndicated funds. Pablo is responsible for leading and designing high-impact, sustainable financial products for Financial Institutions sector operations in Central America and the Dominican Republic. His specialty is helping Financial Institutions create differentiated value propositions for the market in different thematic areas with tailor-made solutions and a particular focus on the region's impact.

Pamela Castellán

Pamela Castellán is currently an external consultant (PEC) in the Climate and Environment Division at IDB Invest, where she supports financial institutions in upstream work and in the structuring and implementation of technical advisory services related to sustainable finance.

She holds a master’s degree in Innovation from the University of Salamanca and has more than 10 years of experience advancing the transformation of the construction sector toward more sustainable models. Previously, she served as executive director of the Guatemala Green Building Council.

During her tenure, she led the construction sector in developing Guatemala’s Sustainable Finance Taxonomy and promoted the approval of municipal and financial incentive regulations that have helped catalyze investment in sustainable construction in the country. She also served as president of the Americas regional network of the World Green Building Council, where she led regional initiatives and represented the sector in international forums.

Her professional background combines technical expertise with multiple accreditations in sustainable construction and sustainable finance, as well as experience in building strategic partnerships among the public sector, the private sector, and multilateral organizations, with the objective of generating social, environmental, and economic impact across the region.

Pamela Jouven

As Director of the SME Climate Hub, Pamela works with international partners, multinational companies and governments to accelerate a global movement and develop a one-stop-shop platform mobilizing small and medium-sized enterprises to take climate action on net zero. Pamela previously served as Head of City Business Climate Alliances at C40, where she was responsible for expanding C40’s service offering to member cities relating to the acceleration of climate solutions with local and global businesses. Her experience also includes initiating and leading multi-partner programmes focused on innovation and sustainability for Virgin Unite, the non-profit arm of the Virgin Group, and University of the Arts London.  

Pamela Jouven

Como directora del PYMES Climate Hub, Pamela trabaja con socios internacionales, empresas multinacionales y gobiernos para acelerar un movimiento global y desarrollar una plataforma integral que movilice a las pequeñas y medianas empresas para que adopten medidas climáticas en materia de emisiones netas cero. Anteriormente, Pamela se desempeñó como jefa de Alianzas Climáticas Empresariales de Ciudades en C40, donde fue responsable de expandir a las ciudades integrantes de C40 la oferta de servicios vinculada a la aceleración de soluciones climáticas con empresas locales y globales. Su experiencia también incluye la puesta en marcha y dirección de programas de múltiples socios centrados en la innovación y la sostenibilidad para Virgin Unite, la rama sin fines de lucro de Virgin Group, y la Universidad de las Artes de Londres.

Paola Bazán

Paola Bazán es oficial de inversión de la División de Grandes Empresas de BID Invest. Paola se integró al BID en 2008, donde ha trabajado en la estructuración de financiamientos de deuda a largo plazo en operaciones de agronegocios y biocombustibles en América Latina y el Caribe, con especial atención en la producción de cultivos, lácteos, energía renovable y eficiencia energética. Antes de ingresar al Grupo BID, Paola ocupó puestos en el área de finanzas corporativas en varias empresas internacionales de Sudamérica pertenecientes a los sectores de seguros, minería y telecomunicaciones. Tiene un MBA en finanzas de George Washington University y una licenciatura en administración de empresas de la Universidad de Piura, Perú.

Patricia Tatto

Patricia is President and founder of Women in Renewable Energy Mexico AC, (MERM) a non-profit Civil Association in the renewable energy sector, with the purpose of empowering women in the field of renewable energy in LATAM.

Patricia Yañez-Pagans

Patricia Yañez-Pagans is a Principal Economist in the Development Effectiveness Division of IDB Invest. With extensive experience in impact measurement across multiple areas, both in the public and private sectors, she currently leads the work on ex-post evaluation for the IDB Invest portfolio and the impact knowledge agenda. Patricia joined the IDB Group under the Young Professionals Program and served as an Economist in the IDB's Office of Strategic Planning and Development Effectiveness and as Research Fellow for IDB’s Research Department. She has also worked as a consultant for different institutions, such as the World Bank, UNICEF and the Ministry of Development Planning of Bolivia, and as a Professor of Economics at the Universidad Católica Boliviana. Patricia has a Ph.D. in Applied Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master’s in Applied Economics from Pompeu Fabra University, and a Master’s in Social Policy and Development from The London School of Economics and Political Science.

Pau Puig Gabarró

Pau holds bachelor's and master's degrees in telecommunications engineering, as well as a postgraduate degree in business management and a master's degree in international business administration. Since 2016, he has worked at the Inter-American Development Bank as a senior telecommunications specialist, supporting governments in Latin America and the Caribbean in reforming public policies related to digital technologies and in planning and implementing investments in telecommunications infrastructure.

Paula Castillo

Paula Castillo is a Senior Officer in the Strategy, Planning, and Synergies Division of IDB Invest, where she leads the strategic and analytical work in transport, social infrastructure, and public-private partnerships (PPPs). Paula is also involved in developing regional frameworks and corporate strategy initiatives aimed at maximizing IDB Invest’s impact. Prior to her current role, Paula served as a technical advisor to the Vice President for Sectors and Knowledge at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and worked as a consultant in the IDB’s Transportation Division. Before joining the IDB Group, she contributed to Colombia’s National Planning Department in the Infrastructure Division and held academic positions at the Universidad de los Andes. Paula holds a degree in economics, a master’s in sustainability management from American University’s Kogod School of Business in the United States, and a master’s in economics from the Universidad de los Andes.

Paula Peláez

Paula Pelaez is the Director of MSME, Gender, Diversity and Inclusion, Advisory Services, at IDB Invest. Paula and her team support clients and the region in promoting inclusive and sustainable through improved business practices and innovative financing instruments. She has over 20 years of experience working at the intersection of private sector and development in Africa, Asia and Latin America. She has worked with UNDP, BSR, CARE Canada, Aga Khan Foundation, and Grupo Aval on various topics such as inclusive business, sustainable sourcing, business and human rights, women empowerment, value chain development, impact investing and microfinance. Paula has a MSc in Environmental Studies from York University, Canada, and a BSc in Industrial Engineering from Universidad de los Andes, Colombia. 

Paula Valencia

Paula Valencia is an environmental and social specialist at IDB Invest, based in Washington, D.C. and she leads the agribusiness group within the Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance Division. She is responsible for evaluating environmental and social impacts and risks of agribusiness operations, proposing mitigation measures consistent with international best practices, supervising the performance and sustainability of projects, offering technical assistance to customers and generating knowledge products. She has extensive experience in the public and private sectors of Latin America and the Caribbean, having worked with the IDB Group for more than 19 years, primarily in agribusiness, financial intermediation, and manufacturing projects. Paula is an Industrial Engineer from the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia), she has a master's degree in environmental science and policy from Johns Hopkins University (United States) and other studies in agriculture from Cornell University (United States).

Pilar Carvajo Lucena

Pilar is an Investment Management Officer, Blended Finance Team at IDB 
Invest, which she joined in 2017. She provides 
support to the origination and structuring processes 
of the concessional tranche of investments in the 
energy, agribusiness, manufacturing and financial 
services sectors, especially in Central America and 
the Caribbean. She is also responsible for managing 
the relationship with donors, including fundraising 
and project portfolio monitoring. 
Before joining the IDB Group, she worked at Acción 
Global Investments, where she participated in the 
origination and structuring of equity investments in 
financial institutions in Asia and Latin America. She 
previously worked at Deloitte providing advice to 
infrastructure and renewable energy clients, among 
other sectors, and managing their financial risks. She 
has more than five years of experience in the 
management of financial and equity investment risks 
in emerging markets. 
Pilar earned a master’s degree in business 
administration (MBA) from the MIT Sloan School of 
Management in Cambridge, MA (USA) and a 
professional degree in law and business 
administration from Universidad Pablo de Olavide in 
Seville (Spain).