Combined Financing showcase how different parts of the IDB Group (IDB, IDB Invest and IDB Lab) can work together to address complex development challenges. These collaborations combine public policy support, private sector investment, and early-stage innovation to deliver greater impact to the region.
Each synergy highlights how coordinated efforts across sectors and financing offerings can unlock solutions that are scalable, inclusive, and sustainable. This benefits governments, businesses, and communities across Latin America and the Caribbean.
In particular, the IDB Group has been finding strong success in infrastructure development through its Combined Financing. This works by focusing on what the Public and Private Sectors can each do best when they are well articulated. See examples for Infrastructure, and below, for other development areas. Reach out to your local IDB office if you would like to do something similar for your country.
Development Challenge being addressed & Main Focus
Manaus faces major challenges in expanding access to clean water and sanitation, especially in vulnerable urban areas. The synergy focuses on combining public infrastructure investment with private sector operations to accelerate universal access to essential services.
Benefits of the Synergy
- Enables better coordination between public and private investments in the same city.
- Reduces duplication of efforts and maximized the use of existing infrastructure.
- Helps scale up service delivery by aligning financing and operational strategies.
- Strengthens the sustainability of public investments through private sector participation.
Public Sector: IDB
Finances the construction of key infrastructure, including a sewage treatment plant, and supports urban development and institutional strengthening to improve health and living conditions in Manaus and surrounding cities.
IDB Financing Offering used: Préstamos de inversión específicos (ESP)
Private Sector: IDB Invest
Finances the expansion of water distribution and wastewater treatment services in Manaus. The project leverages infrastructure built by the public sector to support the private operator reach universal coverage goals.
IDB Financing Offering used: Préstamos
Development Challenge being addressed & Main Focus
Remote communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon rely on river transport, which is often costly, polluting, and unreliable. The synergy focuses on combining national energy reforms with innovative solar-powered mobility solutions to improve connectivity and sustainability in hard-to-reach areas.
Benefits of the Synergy
- Enables the deployment of clean transport solutions in remote regions.
- Connects public energy policy with inclusive, community-based innovation.
- Reduces environmental impact and improved access to essential services.
- Supports indigenous-led technical capacity and local manufacturing.
- Creates a scalable model for sustainable mobility in rural areas.
Public Sector: IDB
Supports Ecuador’s energy transition through policy reforms that promote renewable energy and create the regulatory framework needed for private-sector innovation. These reforms enable the conditions for solar mobility projects to emerge.
IDB Financing Offering used: Préstamos basados en políticas (PBL)
Private Sector: IDB Invest
Finances the expansion of water distribution and wastewater treatment services in Manaus. The project leverages infrastructure built by the public sector to support the private operator reach universal coverage goals.
IDB Financing Offering used: Préstamos
Development Challenge being addressed & Main Focus
Small businesses in Ecuador face barriers to accessing clean energy solutions, while the country works to transition away from fossil fuels. This synergy focuses on combining national energy reforms with digital innovation to make solar energy more accessible, especially for underserved enterprises.
Benefits of the Synergy
- Connects public policy reforms with private-sector innovation.
- Enables the launch of a tech-enabled platform thanks to a supportive regulatory environment.
- Reduces barriers for SMEs to adopt solar energy solutions.
- Creates a replicable model for clean energy access that can be scaled regionally.
- Demonstrates how institutional reforms can unlock new business models
Public Sector: IDB
Supports the Government of Ecuador in implementing energy sector reforms to promote distributed generation with renewable energy sources, improve energy efficiency, and reduce fossil fuel dependence. These reforms create the enabling conditions for private-sector-led clean energy initiatives.
IDB Financing Offering used: Préstamos basados en políticas (PBL)
Entrepreneurs: IDB Lab
Funds the development of a digital platform that helps small and medium-sized enterprises access solar energy projects. The platform uses real-time data and blockchain technology to improve transparency, automate asset management, and reduce emissions.
IDB Financing Offering used: Inversiones de Capital
Development Challenge being addressed & Main Focus
Small and medium-sized businesses that protect biodiversity and promote climate solutions often struggle to access growth capital. The synergy focuses on creating a pathway to scale these businesses by combining early-stage support with follow-on investment, helping nature-based enterprises grow sustainably across the region.
Benefits of the Synergy
- Creates a long-term investment pathway for high-impact nature-based businesses.
- Enables the scaling of successful ventures from pilot to growth stage.
- Connects public innovation funding with private capital to amplify impact.
- Strengthens the ecosystem for biodiversity-focused entrepreneurship.
- Provides governments and investors with a replicable model for blended finance.
Entrepreneurs: IDB Lab
Provides initial funding and technical support to small businesses aligned with biodiversity goals and the Nagoya Protocol. This early investment helps build a portfolio of ventures with strong environmental and social impact potential.
IDB Financing Offering used: Inversiones de Capital
Private Sector: IDB Invest
Invested in the EcoEnterprises Partners IV fund to scale nature-based businesses across Latin America. The fund offers tailored growth capital to companies focused on regenerative agriculture, sustainable aquaculture, ecotourism, and inclusive climate solutions.
IDB Financing Offering used: Inversiones de Capital
Development Challenge being addressed & Main Focus
Local communities across Central America face increasing climate risks but often lack access to funding and proven solutions. The synergy focuses on connecting national innovation efforts with community-driven climate adaptation, using grant funding and coordination to scale impact across borders.
Benefits of the Synergy
- Enables alignment between national innovation programs and local climate action.
- Helps scale proven solutions by leveraging existing public-sector initiatives.
- Provides communities with access to funding and tools tailored to their needs.
- Creates a regional model for replicating grassroots climate adaptation.
- Strengthens collaboration between ministries and local actors.
Public Sector: IDB
Supports national innovation and research programs in Panama, with a focus on climate change and sustainable development. The program identifies priority areas through mission-oriented climate solutions and strengthens regional innovation capacity.
IDB Financing Offering used: Préstamos de inversión específicos (ESP)
Entrepreneurs: IDB Lab
Funds the expansion of ChangeX’s model to five countries, enabling local communities to implement proven climate adaptation solutions. The project coordinats with IDB teams to align geographically and thematically with public-sector initiatives.
IDB Financing Offering used: Inversiones de Capital
Development Challenge being addressed & Main Focus
Peru’s public health system needed to improve access to timely, high-quality care, especially for chronic conditions in underserved urban areas. The synergy focuses on combining system-wide health reforms with digital innovation to enhance diagnosis and treatment through integrated public services.
Benefits of the Synergy
- Integrates digital tools into national health service delivery.
- Connects public health reforms with targeted innovation for chronic disease care.
- Improves coordination between infrastructure investment and technology deployment.
- Offers a scalable model for digital health that can be replicated in other regions.
- Strengthens the public system’s ability to respond to patient needs more efficiently.
Public Sector: IDB
Finances the reorganization of Peru’s public health system into integrated networks, improving access to primary care and strengthening clinical support services in Lima and other priority regions.
IDB Financing Offering used: Préstamos de obras múltiples (GOM)
Entrepreneurs: IDB Lab
Funds a pilot digital health management model focused on improving diagnosis and monitoring of type 2 diabetes in vulnerable urban districts. The project complements the broader health reform by introducing innovative technologies into the public system.
IDB Financing Offering used: Inversiones de Capital