IDB Invest, a member of the IDB Group, together with SVB Financial Group (SVB) and Partners for Growth (PFG), has launched the Latam Growth Lending Fund, an innovative $30 million fund with an investment period of four years and a life of eight years.

The Latam Growth Lending Fund will be the first of its kind in the region and will provide venture debt in the form of structured loans to young and high-growth companies in Latin America and the Caribbean, especially in sectors such as computer software, technology, life science, health care, techno-agriculture (agritech), techno-education (edtech) and tech-finance (fintech), among others.

The Fund will complement the activities of IDB Lab, which is also a member of the IDB Group, in venture debt, aimed at companies in early stages, and thus supporting young innovative companies throughout the life cycle, up to their maturity.

This deal potentially contributes to three United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Decent Work and Economic Growth (SDG 8), Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure (SDG 9), and Partnerships for the Goals (SDG 17).

In the current context of the COVID-19 crisis, and given the Fund's focus on the innovation and technology economies, the Project has great potential to help offset its effects by supporting high-productivity investment, which would have been relegated by the current effect of the crisis.

At the same time, it is expected that several of the companies that support the Fund will contribute to alleviating part of the economic and social effects of the pandemic through the development and expansion of digital services, particularly those such as digital commerce, logistics, health, remote education, and financial services, among others.

The Fund incorporates industry best practices, particularly with regards to corporate governance, integrity and environmental, and social risk management.

About IDB Invest
IDB Invest, a member of the IDB Group, is a multilateral development bank committed to promoting the economic development of its member countries in Latin America and the Caribbean through the private sector. IDB Invest finances sustainable companies and projects to achieve financial results and maximize economic, social, and environmental development in the region. With a portfolio of $12.1 billion in asset management and 333 clients in 24 countries, IDB Invest provides innovative financial solutions and advisory services that meet the needs of its clients in a variety of industries.

About SVB Group (SVB)
For more than 35 years, SVB Financial Group (NASDAQ: SIVB) and its subsidiaries have helped innovative companies and their investors move bold ideas forward, fast. SVB Financial Group’s businesses, including Silicon Valley Bank, offer commercial and private banking, asset management, private wealth management, brokerage and investment services and funds management services to companies in the technology, life science and healthcare, private equity and venture capital, and premium wine industries. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, SVB Financial Group operates in centers of innovation around the world.

About Partners for Growth (PFG)
Established as Partners for Growth (PFG) in 2004, the firm’s investment strategy dates to the mid-1980s when the co-founding partners managed the lending practice of technology investment bank Hambrecht & Quist, purchased by JPMorgan Chase in 1999. The PFG team provides custom debt solutions to revenue stage emerging growth companies leveraging decades of experience gained in structuring tailored debt facilities to support growth and expansion, working capital, and acquisition financing needs for over 200 portfolio companies globally since inception.