IDB to close the year with nearly $20Bn in new financing for Latin America, Caribbean

  • The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and its private-sector arm, IDB Invest, expect to close 2021 with $19.5Bn in new financing for Latin America and the Caribbean, as the agencies helped countries recover from the pandemic and usher in an era of sustainable and inclusive growth. 
  • The financing is the second-highest annual total in the history of the IDB and IDB Invest. It helps countries invest in priorities ranging from COVID-19-era healthcare and digitalisation to climate-change action, supply chains and education. 
  • The funding is also aimed at reducing gender inequality, expand entrepreneurial ecosystems, and empower small and mid-size companies, which account for over two-thirds of the Region’s jobs. 
  • The combination of IDB loan approvals ($14Bn) and expected IDB Invest financial commitments ($5.5Bn) and private-sector mobilisations ($2.8Bn) totalled $22.3Bn. Latin America and the Caribbean are the regions that were hit the hardest by the pandemic. Home to about 8% of the world’s population, it accounts for almost a third of all COVID-19 deaths – over 1.5 million people. The region also continues to face high inequality and serious economic and social challenges, the bank noted.

 (Source: IDB)