Sustainable BusinessRecent posts
IDB Invest Structures the Largest Blue Bond in History: $1.35 Billion
The transaction supports the expansion of wastewater collection and treatment in the State of São Paulo and improves living conditions for 2.5 million people through an innovative financing solution.
Governance and Succession: Securing the Future of Mexico’s Nonbank Financial Institutions
IDB Invest study: key findings and a roadmap to strengthen governance and CEO and senior management succession planning in nonbank financial institutions (NBFIs).
Korea's Cutting-Edge Innovations to Transform Agribusiness in Latin America and the Caribbean
Discover how IDB Invest connects regional agribusinesses with leading innovators in Korea to accelerate smart agriculture, agritech, and sustainable growth.
Three ways banks can attract more women customers
Narrowing the global gender gap could add $12 trillion in annual global gross domestic product by 2025. In Latin America and the Caribbean, access to finance for women-led companies is a key driver of this gap. Two out of five small and medium-sized businesses in the region are owned or managed by women, yet 70% of them still have unserved or underserved credit needs. Despite this discrepancy, there is an overwhelming sense of optimism: more than two thirds of active, early-stage women entrepreneurs are opening businesses because they see clear opportunities, not out of necessity.
Can the private sector feed the world?
To feed the world by 2050, global food production must increase 60 percent on as little as 12 percent more arable land. This will require avoiding environmentally-sensitive areas while planning for the unexpected events of climate change. Increased floods, droughts, storms, heat and evolving insect resistance are changing how the world farms. Food security and agriculture are part of an ongoing dialogue at this year’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, where experts are identifying ways to replicate what works and tackle what doesn’t.
Green infrastructure: protect your oceanfront with a coral reef
Hurricane Matthew just swept across the Caribbean, leaving behind destruction and crumbled infrastructure. In Haiti, impassable roads and destroyed bridges between the capital Port-au-Prince and the areas most impacted by the hurricane pose the biggest challenge in reaching the affected population. The overall damage of the hurricane is estimated in the billions of dollars.
Local investors jumpstart capital markets and green energy matrix
Last night’s Latin Finance Deal of the Year Awards dinner in New York City highlighted some non-traditional deals. The Best Renewable Energy Financing Award went to Colonia Arias – a Uruguayan wind farm project with a unique structure to both tap local capital markets and mitigate the effects of climate change.
How Argentina can attract the private sector
This week I had the opportunity to participate in the Argentina Business and Investment Forum in Buenos Aires. The world has been watching as the country took center stage to start the conversation with the private sector and discuss ways to open its markets to the world.
Five Fintechs Disrupting MSME Finance
Big data is changing everything from the way we shop to how we travel. Financial technology companies (fintechs) are now following in the footsteps of giants like Amazon, Airbnb and Uber to transform the banking industry in the digital age. Fintech solutions have shown particular promise across emerging markets where big data is used in advanced credit analytics to help determine a borrower’s creditworthiness based on non-traditional indicators like cell phone usage and social media activity.
