Ecuador to Revitalize Productivity in Coastal Region with IDB Support

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a $40 million loan to Ecuador to boost business labor productivity in the country’s coastal region by investing in science, technology, and innovation.

The IDB estimates that from 2012 to 2019, labor productivity in the coastal region fell by an average of 0.4% per year, a trend accentuated by the COVID-19 pandemic. To address this issue, Ecuador must foster scientific research capabilities, linkages between academia and the regional productive sector, and a more vibrant entrepreneurial environment, among other aspects.

The loan aims to reinvigorate the coastal region’s innovation ecosystem by supporting agro-industrial and aquaculture companies, startups, and researchers, among others, and helping build synergies between scientific and entrepreneurial activity. Part of the operation therefore involves overhauling the infrastructure and equipment of the Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral, an educational institution at the forefront of research, business, entrepreneurship, and innovation in Ecuador.

This investment will drive scientific production, dialogue between academia and business, technology transfer and extension, and the creation and growth of tech companies in Guayaquil. The operation has gender focus and contributes to climate change adaptation and mitigation and environmental sustainability.

The loan has a 25-year repayment term, a five-and-a-half-year grace period, and an interest rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR).