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Innovation, Technology, and Finance to make SMEs Stronger and More Productive
An initiative driven in El Salvador by IDB Invest, IDB Lab, and Banco Cuscatlán promotes digital transformation and adopting financial and non-financial products.
Superfoods also take care of Amazonia’s health
The development of sustainable value chains for quinoa, cocoa, sesame, and other high-nutritional-value crops can foster integration into international markets, benefit the region, and contribute to sustainable development goals.
By Adopting Traceability in Its Supply Chain This Company Managed to Become More Sustainable
In a world where sustainability is part of the DNA of business, an Ecuadorian company implemented standards to guarantee socially just and ecologically respectful practices throughout the value chain.
Can innovations in healthcare technology leapfrog to better solutions?
In our experience at the IDB, healthcare systems in many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) suffer from severe resource constraints. Competing health priorities, budget restrictions, staff shortages and general technological deficiencies leave large segments of the population without basic treatment.
The Caribbean Private Sector: How to expand lending
“All cassava have the same skin, but all don’t taste the same way,” is a Caribbean proverb which serves as a reminder that while people may appear alike on the outside, each is quite unique on the inside. The saying, which first originated in Guyana, speaks about the individuality of people, yet it also resonates with me as a development professional when thinking about the diversity of the Caribbean economies. From what I have seen, each country in this region offers a distinct mix of cultural richness, entrepreneurialism, sector expertise, biodiversity, natural resources and much more.
Why invest in health?
On September 18, 2013, I co-led along with Geetha Tharmaratnam (The Abraaj Group) a webinar for the Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) Investors’ Council on opportunities in the health sector to address critical needs in emerging markets. Most countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have universal public healthcare systems, however, the infrastructure, especially outside of capital cities and for higher complexity needs, is typically insufficient. There are long wait times for services, limited geographic access to specialists and often long payment cycles for private providers serving lower income patients. These combined factors result in a lack of access to quality care in a timely fashion.
Five ways the IDB is scaling up green private sector investment
Recently several colleagues and I traveled to Copenhagen, Denmark, to participate in the Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) Annual Summit along with 450 other leaders from government, private sector and civil society. I had the opportunity to address three panels and used the forums to discuss ways the IDB’s private sector is tackling the climate crisis.
"A man is not a financial plan:" Banks globally target women clients
Westpac's Larke Riemer is director of women's markets and not shy about her business, offering straightforward advice for women clients. Five top leaders in women's banking, including Riemer, spoke today on an eye-opening panel at the 47th annual FELABAN (Latin American Federation of Banks) conference in Miami, FL. The session highlighted how to strengthen female financial inclusion.
Approaching infrastructure from all angles: sustainable opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean
“Please see if it is feasible to create these roads so that they will pay for themselves,” famously declared Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the United States’ 32nd president. In Latin America and the Caribbean, such a boundless, timeless statement holds true for the majority of today’s infrastructure projects. An IDB study recently affirmed that investments in infrastructure provide financial returns upwards of 70 percent. But in the region and across the globe, the goal of infrastructure should not only be financial profitability. Given the long life of infrastructure assets and their importance for country competitiveness, the social and environmental rationale for high-quality, reliable and sustainably constructed infrastructure is equally captivating.