IDB - Inter-American Development Bank

Published purpose

This contribution represents Canada’s long-term institutional support to the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), which is part of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The MIF is a trust fund administered by the IDB. The Third Replenishment of the MIF consolidates its role as the IDB Group's innovation laboratory for promoting development through the private sector, targeting poor and vulnerable populations. The Fund supports micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSME), targets the base of the economic pyramid market segments, expands financial services, offers renewable energy and climate change adaptation solutions for smallholder farmers, and creates access to basic services like health, water and sanitation. The MIF is one of the largest international technical assistance providers to the private sector in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC), and works with local, mostly private partners, to help fund and execute projects in 26 countries in the LAC region. Its main beneficiaries are micro and small firms, small farms, and poor and vulnerable households. The MIF works primarily through technical assistance grants, but also does equity investments and loans, as well as through a combination of these tools when both capacity building and risk sharing financing is needed. As a laboratory for development, the MIF stimulates private sector innovation to drive sustainable economic growth and reduce poverty across Latin America and the Caribbean. The sectors of focus for the Fund are climate-smart agriculture, inclusive cities and knowledge economy. Gender and diversity, environmental and social sustainability, and enabling environment cross-cut the three sectors of focus. MIF III's focus covers pressing development priorities of Latin America and the Caribbean, from adapting to the effects of climate change, improving the quality of life for people in rapidly growing urban areas, to creating and filling 21st century jobs