IDB to rely on business sector to achieve greater impact in the region

In this line, the president of IDB Invest, the IDB’s private arm, James Scriven, said that the money available to multilateral organizations is “limited,” so he sees private investment as the “only way” to increase the resources available to boost development projects in the region. This week, the group expects a series of reforms to be approved, which will be debated until March 11 at the IDB governors’ meeting in Punta Cana (Dominican Republic) and with which the bank aims to position itself as a bridge between investors and countries. Collaborative scenario Latin America and the Caribbean have grown very fast in recent years, Goldfajn added, insisting that for decades the region had been seen from the point of view of its needs, but now “the world also sees that it is part of the solution to global problems.” For this reason, the “IDB for the Americas” program was launched at the end of 2023 to symbolize a collaborative effort among all the parties involved, with the purpose of “creating a scenario from which we all benefit.” The Dominican Republic’s Minister of Industry, Commerce, and MSMEs, Víctor Bisonó, assured during a business forum that political and social stability and legal guarantees are essential to attract private investment and generate consensus with other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. As an example of this type of measures to provide security to investors, the Minister of Economy of El Salvador, María Luisa Hayem, highlighted a law approved in her country in 2023 that offers “tax incentives” for 15 years to technology companies.Regarding financial inclusion, the general manager of VISA in the Dominican Republic, Sofía Antor, revealed that digital payments are “the fundamental pillar of banking digitalization” and that, if achieved, it will also improve the culture of savings and transparency of the economy.New investments Another company that has plans for the region is Google with an investment commitment of US$120 million, which was announced in the middle of last year, the technology giant’s head of government affairs for Latin America, Eleonora Rabinovich, said.

The company has a special interest in developing digital infrastructure, Rabonovich stressed and is currently working with countries such as El Salvador and Chile. Google announced in January the construction, together with the Chilean government, of the first submarine cable that will connect Latin America with the Asia Pacific region. “It is a project that will have a huge impact on business opportunities and job creation,” the executive said. In other work sessions on Friday, the IDB and Slovenia signed a letter of intent for the contribution of 2 million euros, which is the first donation from the European country to a multilateral development bank.

Gender and Diversity Office Coinciding with International Women’s Day, the IDB announced on Friday the creation of a new office dedicated to gender and diversity, which will be headed by Diana Rodriguez Franco, former secretary of Women’s Affairs at the Bogota City Council. The gender expert, with more than 20 years of experience, will assume the new role as of April 1, the IDB said in a statement and will work directly with Goldfajn. On Saturday, the second-last day of the 64th IDB Board of Governors Annual Meeting, the entity’s new strategy is to be decided at the plenary sessions. EFE aaca-jmp/abz/cpy/lap