Argentina will ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of its social protection programs with a $600 million loan approved by the Inter-American Development Bank.

This project marks the second phase of two separate and sequential operations. The goal of both phases is to guarantee the sustainability of money disbursement programs for the poor and encourage improvements in the effectiveness of these initiatives by strengthening their management through the use of digital transformation tools.

The second phase of the program will finance for one year disbursements to 213,000 people taking part in the program known as Hacemos Futuro (We are Building the Future). It will also work to see that the availability of workplace training for these people meets demand in the public and private sectors.

The project will also help improve public transport and finance for one year the public transport discount that those who are eligible receive.

Finally, the project will support implementation of a pilot program that will aim to complement so-called Progesar grants with other policies designed to keep low-income youths from dropping out of university level studies.

The $600 million IDB loan is payable over 25 years, with a grace period of five years and an interest rate pegged to the LIBOR.