Agenda prioritizes streamlining investment permits, expanding access to housing, and developing knowledge-based services. SANTIAGO — The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) and the government of Chile will advance a joint agenda to attract new investment, strengthen strategic sectors, and accelerate economic growth, with the potential to generate 400,000 jobs in the coming years, according to IDB estimates. The agenda was presented during IDB Group President Ilan Goldfajn’s visit to Santiago, where he met with President José Antonio Kast, Minister of Finance Jorge Quiroz
Five selected startups will present their solutions to investors in October during the IDB Group’s Global Entrepreneurship and Technology Forum for Latin America and the Caribbean - GET Forum. WASHINGTON — IDB Lab, the innovation and venture arm of the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group), today announced the five women-led businesses selected as winners of the 2026 WeXchange Women STEMpreneurs competition. WeXchange is a platform that connects women entrepreneurs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) across Latin America and the Caribbean with investors and
WASHINGTON – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has recognized three young economists from Latin America and the Caribbean with the 2026 IDB Young Economist Award for the excellence of their doctoral research work. Paula Donaldson, an Argentine economist with a PhD from the University of California, San Diego, won first prize for her paper which argues that traditional estimates of the impact of certain public policies may be overstated because they do not always separate the direct effects of a policy from the reactions it generates throughout the rest of the economy. It also proposes
WASHINGTON — The Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a $95 million investment loan to improve environmental conditions in the Panama Metropolitan Area and the Districts of Arraiján and La Chorrera, while supporting the implementation of Panama’s Sustainable Financing Framework. The program will directly benefit approximately 310,000 people through expanded access to sanitation services. The operation will support a series of initiatives in Panama Bay and the Metropolitan Area, including: Rehabilitation of the Amador sanitary sewerage system
WASHINGTON — The Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a $149.25 million Results-Based Loan (RBL) and a $750,000 nonreimbursable investment grant to enhance Bogotá’s resilience and fiscal sustainability in Colombia. The program will strengthen integrated solid waste management, improve public spaces, and increase locally generated revenue through cadastral modernization. The operation will finance urban revitalization interventions in public spaces, the implementation of systems and services for the collection, treatment, and recovery of solid waste
WASHINGTON — The Board of Executive Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a $500 million Special Development Loan (SDL) for Ecuador to help the country advance reforms and measures that promote macroeconomic stability. The operation, part of an IMF-led package of international support, will allow the country to proceed with structural reforms to improve its fiscal sustainability while protecting financing for social programs that benefit poor and vulnerable segments of the population. Additionally, the loan will allow the country to bolster its dollar currency
BOGOTÁ — The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), through its IDB Cities Network, is bringing together more than 50 mayors and national and local authorities from Latin America and the Caribbean in Bogotá and Barranquilla, Colombia, for the 2026 Mayors Forum, one of the region’s leading platforms for discussing the future of cities and urban transformation initiatives to improve citizens’ quality of life. The event, held on September 2-4, seeks to foster cooperation and peer learning among cities to help strengthen management capacity, attract investment, and implement solutions that deliver
WASHINGTON — The Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group) has announced six finalists for Superheroes of Development 2026, an award that highlights lessons learned from IDB Group-financed initiatives in Latin America and the Caribbean. The selected projects stand out for transforming complex challenges into opportunities to generate impact, draw lessons, and develop replicable solutions in the region. The finalist projects span a wide range of sectors and approaches: from digital connectivity and education to transportation infrastructure, energy transition, and resilience. Each