About the blog

Diego Flaiban

Diego leads the Financial Institutions Team for the Southern Cone at IDB Invest, which he joined in 2016. He is responsible for originating and structuring financing operations for financial intermediaries that have an impact on development. Diego has more than 15 years of experience in the IDB Group, where he has led transactions for loans, capital markets and capital investments in the region that promote access to finance, women’s empowerment and climate change mitigation. Before joining the IDB Group, he worked as Senior Consultant and Auditor of Financial Institutions at Arthur Andersen and Deloitte. He previously worked as a loan officer and financial specialist at leading financial institutions in Argentina. Diego earned a graduate certificate in international business from Georgetown University (USA) and an undergraduate degree in public accounting from Universidad de Buenos Aires (Argentina).

Diego Herrera

Diego Herrera is a principal specialist in the Connectivity, Markets, and Finance Division at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

In addition to his lending activities—which focus on productive development financing and policy-based loans to promote regulatory reform in Latin America and the Caribbean—he serves as coordinator of the IDB’s Regulation Focus Group. 

He leads the financial regulation agenda from a sectoral perspective and spearheads the regional policy dialogue for the financial sector, as well as the FintechLAC initiative, which fosters digital finance in the region.

Before joining the IDB, Diego was superintendent for Market Risk and Integrity and chief of Market Risk at Colombia’s financial regulatory authority. He also led the risk function at securities firms in Colombia and held other roles in the private sector.

Diego holds a Master of Science in Risk Management from New York University’s Stern School of Business and earned master’s and bachelor’s degrees in economics from Universidad del Rosario in Colombia.

Diego Margot

Diego es economista en la División de Efectividad en el Desarrollo de BID Invest. Su especialidad es el análisis económico y la regulación de los sectores de infraestructura y telecomunicaciones. Tiene experiencia en el análisis de impacto en el desarrollo y en el financiamiento de proyectos de infraestructura. Anteriormente, Diego trabajó en la gerencia del Departamento de Infraestructura y Medio Ambiente del BID y en la agencia de antitrust de Argentina. Tiene un doctorado en economía de la Universidad de Illinois (EE. UU.) y una maestría en economía de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata (Argentina).

Diego Vera-Cossío

Diego Vera-Cossio is an economist in the Research Department of the Inter-American Development Bank. His area of interest is development economics. In particular, his research analyzes how different policies help or prevent family businesses from growing in contexts in which access to finance is limited. He is also interested in understanding how different methods of targeting and delivering resources from public programs affect policy effectiveness. Diego, a citizen of Bolivia, received his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, San Diego in 2018. He holds a Master’s Degree in Economics from Universidad de Chile and a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Universidad Católica Boliviana.

Edgar L. Cabañas

Edgar is an experienced professional in the field of structuring corporate finance, credit guarantees, supply chain finance, equity investments and project finance. He leads investment project teams within the Digital Economy at the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IDB Invest). In 2014, he received the prestigious IDB Ortiz Mena award by the Inter-American Development Bank for improving efficiency and corporate solutions of the Bank through an innovative long-term local currency financing product and in 2019 & 2020 the LatinFinance Social Infrastructure Deal of the year and IJ Global Telecom of the year respectively for the equity investment in Internet Para Todos (Peru). With solid experience in leading a diverse pool of professionals, client relationship management, business development, structuring, and managing complex, multi-million dollar financial transactions in Latin America in industrial sectors such as cement, agribusiness, pulp and paper, textile, and telecom. Before the IDB Invest, he held a number of positions at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) including Advisor to the Executive Director for Uruguay, Bolivia, and Paraguay, Alternate Executive Director at the Multilateral Investment Fund, Private Sector Country Coordinator and Senior Investment Officer at the Inter-American Development Bank. Prior to joining the IDB Group, he worked as a Corporate Relationship Manager and Head of the Stress Asset Management Unit at Citigroup. He holds an MBA and MPA from the American University of Paraguay, and Kansas State University, including postgraduate studies in conflict resolution & Negotiation Mastery at Georgetown University and Harvard University respectively.

Eduardo Marques Almeida

Eduardo Marques Almeida es el representante del BID en Honduras, rol que anteriormente desempeñó en Haití y Paraguay. Antes de unirse al BID trabajó durante más de 20 años en diversas empresas consultoras en Brasil y ONG en Washington DC. Es licenciado en ingeniería civil de la Universidad Federal de Río de Janeiro y cuenta con maestrías en ciencias, administración de empresas y administración pública.

Elee Muslin

Elee is a Lead Investment Officer, Blended Finance in the Financial Products and Services Division at IDB Invest which he joined in 2016. Elee is responsible for originating and structuring blended finance investments into high impact projects with a particular focus on infrastructure and energy. He has also structured and/or managed some of IDB Invest’s largest bilateral climate funds.   Prior to joining IDB Group, Elee held various leadership roles at the Clinton Climate Initiative (CCI) of the William J. Clinton Foundation, including global business development and advisory engagements for and with the C40 Cities, the US Green Building Council, and the Midwest Governors Association.  He earlier worked as a proprietary bulk commodities and chemicals trader in New York. He holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, an M.A. in Energy and Economics from the School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) at Johns Hopkins, and a B.A. in International Relations from Brown University.

Elizabeth Beall

Elizabeth co-leads Finance Earth alongside its two founders. She is a specialist in nature-based solutions and climate finance, and has worked in an advisory capacity providing insight on project design, feasibility, and investment models across a range of sectors and geographies for more than 20 years. At Finance Earth, Elizabeth has led recent engagement with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the European Investment Bank (EIB), WWF, and Blue Marine Foundation on developing guidance and investment models for engagement in natural capital markets and the blue economy. Elizabeth has held a variety of roles focused on the nexus of investment and sustainable development, including within development finance institutions, the UN, and non-profit environmental organisations. Elizabeth has worked extensively across emerging economies, including in Latin America and the Caribbean. Elizabeth is a Fulbright Scholar and has published research on engaging local communities, including indigenous peoples in natural climate solutions. Elizabeth holds a Master’s degree in Commerce and Administration from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and a Bachelor’s in International Relations and International Business from Northeastern University.

Elizabeth Layton

Elizabeth is an Investment Officer on the Infrastructure and Energy Division for the Andean Countries (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia). She leads and coordinates teams through all stages of project development, covering sectors such as infrastructure, water and sanitation, energy, and social infrastructure, to design effective lending solutions. With over 17 years in banking, Elizabeth has built a robust expertise in corporate, infrastructure, and government finance. Her extensive experience in project finance and structured finance enables her to skillfully assess risks, structure complex financings, and manage tailor-made transactions.

Elizabeth Robberechts

Elizabeth Robberechts is a Lead Investment Officer at IDB Invest, based in Washington, DC. Her focus is on creating and structuring financing for renewable energy projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. She has experience in the generation and negotiation of financing for energy projects using technologies: wind, solar photovoltaic, concentrated solar and geothermal. Since 2012, Elizabeth took part in financing deals for five solar photovoltaic projects in Latin America, including the first project financing of a solar photovoltaic project in Chile, as well as the structuring of financing for solar projects exposed to commercial risk. Elizabeth speaks Spanish and English and earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Cornell University.

Emma Torres

Emma Torres is vice-president for the Americas and Head of the New York office of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network. She serves as Strategic Coordinator of the Science Panel for the Amazon. The Panel composed of more than 250 scientists issued its first report on the State of the Amazon at COP 26 in November 2021. She also serves as Strategic Coordinator of the Science Panel for the Congo Basin and as Co-Chair of SDSN Amazonia. Between 2020 and 2022. Ms. Torres served on the Lancet COVID-19 Commission. Ms. Torres has a long working experience in the United Nations, with increasing levels of responsibilities involving management, strategic programme development and negotiations to promote sustainable development initiatives globally. She coordinated a strategic initiative "Latin America and the Caribbean: A Biodiversity SuperPower", which makes the case of biodiversity importance for development, equity and long-term competitiveness of the region. Ms. Torres served as Deputy Executive Coordinator, UNDP/GEF- a partnership among the UNDP, UNEP and the World Bank. She was responsible for managing a team of over 60 professionals and over $1Billion portfolio in more than 80 countries. As UNDP coordinator for the Commission on Development and Environment for Latin America and the Caribbean she produced “Our Own Agenda”, and “Amazonia without Myths”. Both remain a point of reference in the field. UNDP and the Inter-American Development Bank sponsored the Commission. Ms. Torres holds an MA, Economics, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain; a Diploma on Language and French Civilization, Sorbonne, Paris; Certificates in Environmental Economics and Climate Change, IIED, Harvard University.

Enrique Domínguez

Economist, MSc., BA., with over 19 years of experience in applied economics, infrastructure and public policy. Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Fiscal Specialist at the Vice-presidency for Countries at the IDB. At the moment, working with multiple governments of the IDB's country members in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) on sustainable PPP infrastructure schemes, with focus on gender and vulnerable groups inclusion, project evaluation and prioritization, and impact assessment to identify and foster high-value projects, guaranteeing fiscal sustainability and expanding public-private investment opportunities. In the past, in Mexico, I led the PPP Department at the Water National Commission, worked to efficiently allocate fiscal resources in economic and social infrastructure development (transportation, water and sanitation, energy, health and education) in the Ministry of Finance, and developed significant energy regulations to drive private investments in the sector at the National Hydrocarbons Commission. Recently, I have authored and co-authored publications on PPP prioritization, resilience, fiscal sustainability and inclusion, and worked on several dissemination strategies to foster PPP infrastructure knowledge.