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.
Something New in BOP Housing
By Christy Stickney, author of Many Paths to a Home: Emerging Business Models for Latin America and the Caribbean’s Base of the Pyramid; and Lina Salazar Ortegón, Opportunities for the Majority at the IDB I’m intrigued by FOMEPADE, a rising star in Mexico’s financial scene. Conceived by microfinance veteran Juan José Gutiérrez Chapa (a founding partner of Banco Compartamos) to provide quality housing to underserved markets, FOMEPADE launched in 2012 a housing loan program that incorporates housing providers into a unique value chain for the families at the base of the pyramid (BOP). FOMEPADE’s promising ventures in affordable housing for the BOP offer evidence that new players and business models are emerging, forging inroads into BOP housing markets in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
And the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Winner is... Sustainable Business
Seguir a @BIDSecPriv The FIFA 2014 World Cup Brazil has begun, and with it comes a lot of controversy regarding investments and their societal trade-offs - especially given almost 22% of the Brazilian population still live at the base of the pyramid, on less than US$2.50 a day. Nonetheless, this year, the FIFA Brazil World Cup is thought to be a milestone in terms of sustainable business practices. Below we explore 3 initiatives that can allow small companies to generate new businesses and thrive in the long term.
Defining Expectations: An interview with Jamaica’s Maureen Hayden-Cater on women and leadership
A Caribbean bank leader highlights her experience promoting gender equality both inside and out Maureen Hayden-Cater, President of Jamaica’s First Global Bank, visited the IDB Group to participate in our speaker series “Promoting Women Leaders in the Private Sector.” The initiative is part of the IDB Group Private Sector’s goal to showcase women leaders in the region and strengthen diversity and gender equality. Before her keynote speech, which will be followed by a question and answer session with IDB Group staff, I reached out to First Global’s President to learn more about what women and leadership mean to her.
How to lose weight, feed 9 billion people and save the planet?
Sustainable consumption as business opportunity Eat less meat! The BBQ fans out there don’t have to go cold turkey. The point is eating more vegetables, buying local, nutritious food whenever possible and minimizing waste by purchasing food with less packaging and in reasonable portion sizes can benefit your waistline and the environment. Conscious consumer choices and scarce natural resources incentivize agribusinesses in Latin America to produce more with less. From Brazilian cattle ranchers investing in pasture upgrades instead of deforesting to Nestlé reducing water usage in its Mexican value chain, the food industry has discovered healthy, sustainable consumption as a business opportunity.
Five ways leadership mitigates climate change and promotes sustainability
The Final Game Changer All the renewable energy and energy efficient technology alone cannot ensure a sustainable energy future. The missing element to long-term sustainability in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is leadership. Effective, visionary leadership can mitigate climate change. As the final game changer, leadership is examined through the lens of five kinds of leaders:
Energy Efficiency: A game changer for business & the environment
Energy efficiency is a simple concept. Do more with less. Channeled through a wide array of industries and organizational departments in Latin America and the Caribbean and elsewhere, a serious approach to energy efficiency has many winners - consumers, private firms and governments.
