IDB wants ‘more scale and impact’ for development in Latin America and the Caribbean 

The Inter-American Development Bank Group says it has earned “strong backing” from member countries to expand development financing across Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and strengthen private-sector-led growth.

The IDB ended its annual meetings here over the weekend with “more scale and impact” for development in the LAC after a record year for the IDB Group, where total financing reached US$35 billion.

The Washington-based financial institution said with growth in both public and private operations and continued reform implementation, its financing capacity is expected to reach US$500 billion over the next decade — more than double the amount of the previous 10 years — to support growth, jobs, infrastructure, and opportunities across Latin America and the Caribbean.

“The focus is not only on scale, but on results. The IDB Group’s 2025 Impact Report found that our operations helped 34 million people access health and nutrition services, enabled 2.6 million people to gain broadband connectivity, supported 3.3 million micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, and improved agricultural services for nearly one million farmers.”

During the meetings, the IDB Group also announced that the subscription process for the US$3.5 billion capitalization of IDB Invest, approved by the boards of Governors in Punta Cana in 2024, has been successfully closed, strengthening its capacity to mobilize private investment and finance companies across the region.

The IDB said governors also reviewed several initiatives aimed at translating greater financing capacity into stronger development outcomes.

The IDB said the group launched IDB LAC Minerals, which aligns interests that benefit both the Latin America and Caribbean region and its trusted partners around the world.

“The initiative fosters safe, value-added supply chains originating in the region. Each party brings its contribution. Latin America and the Caribbean brings scale in minerals and a growing commitment to value addition.

“Global partners bring long-term demand and attractive pricing, advanced technology, and capital. The IDB Group bridges the two — supporting policy and regulatory frameworks, catalyzing private investment, and financing processing and value-chain infrastructure.”

The IDB said the meetings also marked the launch of LAC Crece, the IDB Group’s platform for accelerating private-sector-led growth through “sequenced, prioritized, and financed action.”

Through LAC Crece, the IDB said it helps align public action and private investment to “unlock productivity, growth, and jobs.”

It said the platform is already being implemented by governments in El Salvador and Bolivia, with additional work underway in the Dominican Republic and Ecuador.

In addition, the IDB said it introduced Procure+, a comprehensive reform of procurement across IDB-financed operations, covering about US$4.5 billion in projects annually.

“This initiative strengthens competition, improves efficiency of spending, and raises transparency standards to deliver better projects and stronger results,” the IDB said, noting that integration was also a central theme of the meetings, with programmes and initiatives such as Amazonia Forever, South Connection, and IDB Cares “advancing projects that turn regional cooperation into investments that strengthen productivity, resilience, and opportunity across Latin America and the Caribbean”.

The annual meetings were attended by nearly 4,000 participants from 48 countries, with participants holding more than 440 meetings, including hundreds of networking sessions and private-sector meetings, highlighting “strong engagement between governments, investors, and development partners.

“The discussions underscored a shared priority among members: mobilizing private-sector investment and translating that scale into growth, jobs, opportunity, and ultimately, development across Latin America and the Caribbean,” the IDB said. (CMC)

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