WASHINGTON — The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) expanded its Emergency Credit Line for Jamaica and stands ready to support the country in its emergency response to Hurricane Melissa. The Bank is ready to provide, upon government request, up to US$300 million in fast-disbursing resources to support humanitarian assistance, restore essential services for the population, and back other emergency measures being implemented. These funds are part of the IDB Contingent Credit Facility (CCF) originally approved in 2018 to help the country respond to natural disasters and other emergencies. This
WASHINGTON — Innovative financing solutions and public-private partnerships (PPPs) are key to unlocking the Caribbean’s development, according to a new report by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). Investment in smart, resilient, well-executed infrastructure projects will both help insulate the region from global economic shocks, as well as drive faster and more inclusive growth. The report, “Catalyzing Capital: Public-Private Partnerships for Resilient Growth,” provides a comprehensive analysis of the region’s infrastructure investment needs, the enabling environment for public-private
WASHINGTON — The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved a US$6.5 million loan to help Jamaica strengthen its cybersecurity capabilities, benefiting more than 2.8 million people by improving the resilience of public institutions and critical infrastructure against cyber threats. The operation, which includes US$3.5 million in counterpart funding, for a total of US$10 million, will support the country’s efforts to modernize cybersecurity governance, enhance incident response capabilities, and expand its pool of specialized professionals. Cyberattacks in Jamaica have increased
Five entrepreneurs will present their solutions on December 2 at GET Forum, the IDB Group’s flagship event on innovation and technology for development. WASHINGTON – IDB Lab, the innovation and venture capital arm of the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group), has announced the five women-led businesses that have won the WeXchange Women STEMpreneurs 2025 competition. WeXchange, a platform connecting women entrepreneurs in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), received more than 400 entries from 35 countries, offering solutions in edtech, healthtech, fintech
BRASILIA – As part of the Brazil-Caribbean Summit, with the participation of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) nations, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) today announced new measures to support the region through development and integration. In the IDB's view, the joint efforts of Brazil and CARICOM prove that regional integration works. One of the IDB's most important initiatives is the creation of a multi-donor fund for the ONE Caribbean program, a platform for collective action focused on climate resilience and disaster-risk management, citizen security, private-sector development, and
IDB Lab, the innovation and venture capital arm of the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group), has launched a call for participants in its Women STEMpreneurs Competition to fund women-led startups in Latin America and the Caribbean. The thirteenth edition of the regional competition will be held through the WeXchange platform offering opportunities for women entrepreneurs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The call underscores IDB Lab's commitment to strengthening the innovation ecosystem to maximize the talent of women entrepreneurs and accelerate the
Most Caribbean businesses are either innovative or potentially innovative but still face challenges, according to a new report by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). This edition delves into the critical role of innovation in driving economic growth and productivity in the Caribbean region. Innovative businesses in the Caribbean have 26% to 35% higher levels of productivity and 21% to 81% higher sales per worker than non-innovative firms, depending on the type of innovation, according to the report titled "Innovation for Faster Economic Growth in the Caribbean: Are We There Yet?". The