Sustainable BusinessRecent posts
Guatemala Advances in Diversifying Energy Sources for the Transport Sector
IDB Invest supported technical studies that provided evidence for the introduction of a 10% ethanol blend in gasoline in Guatemala.
Making Every Dollar Count: Capital Management for Greater Development Impact
How IDB Invest optimizes its balance sheet to expand investment capacity through its Originate-to-Share model.
The Untapped Opportunity in SME Banking
IDB Invest is helping financial institutions across Latin America and the Caribbean strengthen their SME banking capabilities for long-term growth.
Ugly food leads to innovation in fighting hunger
Latin America and the Caribbean is one of the biggest exporters of food on the planet. Yet, more than 52 million people, or 10 percent of the region’s population, still suffer from hunger and malnutrition. The July 2014 FAO publication Food Loss and Waste in Latin America and the Caribbean has highlighted a significant paradox the region faces. While the region has a sturdy food-production capacity, 6 percent of the total loss and waste of food in the world occurs in Latin America. Poor distribution and access to food has led to this misuse of sources of nutrition that could have met the needs of at least 47 million hungry people in the region.
Four ways technology and data facilitate SME finance in Latin America & the Caribbean
* By Greg Da Re Technology, particularly the Internet, allows SMEs to share experiences, connect to different networks and operate in a world without the limitation of geographical barriers. Social networks are increasingly important for companies to position their brands. Social media in Latin America will near 300 million users by 2017. Technology can allow SMEs to increase their competitiveness and facilitate new ways to access financing.
Impact Investing: Defining 2014’s #1 Development Buzzword
* By the IDB's Partnership Office Is impact investing just another development buzzword? A passing fad? We believe it is not, and that it is an innovative approach to development financing that is here to stay.
World looks to BRICS for sustainable business solutions
Multilaterals can provide sustainable business solutions – the recent BRICS summit highlighted how. Two weeks ago, the leaders of the five BRICS emerging nations –– Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa–– met in Fortaleza, Brazil for the 6th BRICS Summit. A $100 million development bank and a currency reserve pool were launched among the nations, a long-waited initiative since talks first began five years ago. This is no small feat. The five nations together account for half of the global population and 20 percent of the world’s GDP. Moreover, in the last ten years the economic outputs of these emerging nations have quadrupled . Although economic growth often translates into better living standards and opportunities for citizens, it is often coupled with key economic, social and environmental challenges –– especially in rapidly growing emerging economies.
Two cents from an entrepreneur: how development institutions can help scale up base of the pyramid models
* By Andre Averbug Most discussions about scaling up base of the pyramid (BOP) models focus on financing the companies themselves, yet there are other ways development finance institutions (DFIs )could support BOP ventures.
Abandoned houses prove golden opportunity: An interview with Antonio Díaz, Founder and CEO of Provive
Miriam, 43, lives in Cañadas del Florido, a low-income neighborhood in Tijuana, Baja California, the northernmost state of Mexico. Three years ago, on any given day, Miriam and her three children would watch criminals, drug addicts, and vagrants frequent the empty house next-door. Their streets were littered with garbage and dead animals. This is not an uncommon situation in the Mexican neighborhoods, or fraccionamientos, where more than seven million houses were built by developers with mortgages from the government in the last decade. Thanks to Provive, Miriam’s life has since changed.
