The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a $50 million Global Credit Loan (GCL) to the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for a program to enhance the resilience of its eligible Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) member countries to disasters and climate change.
The program will enhance the disaster resilience of infrastructure and foster disaster-resilient growth for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). CDB will re-lend the resources to finance eligible OECS member countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent, and the Grenadines.
The initiative will identify critical disaster and climate change risks to roads and water and sanitation systems and design and implement a combination of measures to reduce the vulnerability of these systems, contributing to their resilience and ensuring the continuity of essential services during emergencies.
In addition, the loan will finance investments to boost productivity and reduce disaster and climate change risk in MSMEs, channeling resources from CDB to the eligible OECS Member Countries or eligible Development Financial Institutions (DFI). The sub-loans will require a disaster and climate change risk assessment, ensuring that their design considers resilience.
Measures to strengthen resilience may include capital investments, disaster risk assessments, business continuity plans, feasibility studies, and other technical assistance required to formulate each sub-loan. This operation is aligned with Vision 2025 - Reinvesting in the Americas: A Decade of Opportunities, created by the IDB to achieve recovery and inclusive growth in Latin America and the Caribbean in the areas of climate change and productivity, two of the Bank’s main priorities. It also promotes IDB’s “Build Forward” initiative, a sub-regional strategy under Vision 2025 which emphasizes the pursuit of smart and resilient transformative investments for the Caribbean.
The IDB loan of $50 million has a 23.5-year repayment term, a seven-year grace period, and an interest rate based on LIBOR.
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The Inter-American Development Bank is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social, and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research and provides policy advice, technical assistance, and training to public and private sector clients throughout the region.
Borges De Padua Goulart Janaina
Bachelet,Pablo A.
Press Coordinator
Lacambra Ayuso,Sergio Emilio
