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ABOUT US

EcoMicro is a Technical Cooperation Program by the Inter-American Development Bank’s IDB Lab, co-financed by Global Affairs Canada, IDB Lab and Nordic Development Fund. The Global Affairs Canada contribution supports The EcoMicro Caribbean Program.

Why pursue green finance

Despite demonstrated need and demand throughout Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), many MSMEs and low-income households are not able to access clean energy, energy efficiency technologies, and adaptation products.

A primary cause of this is that their financial providers do not have the appropriate tools and know-how to develop and offer sustainable green financial products to facilitate the acquisition of mitigation or adaptation technologies.

Our Approach

EcoMicro partners with Financial Institutions to create Green Finance Products that build resilience of MSMEs and low income households to Climate Change.

This is an innovative approach to developing products that facilitate access to sustainable, low-cost energy or adaptation technologies for MSMEs and low-income households.

The approach considers the affordability, reliability and commercial viability of a particular technology for the end-user client.

This includes designing products such as:

  • productive loans for those interested in becoming suppliers/retailers of renewable energy, energy efficiency, or adaptation products and/or services.

  • consumer loans that promote the increased adoption and use of these technologies.

  • financing for green entrepreneurs and MSME businesses.

  • providing micro-insurance for MSME asset protection including crop insurance for smallholder farmers.

Translating climate change into sustainable local solutions

Gender mainstreaming

IDB Lab and its partners are committed to promoting gender equality and women’s economic empowerment.

All Projects financed under The EcoMicro Program will be implemented in keeping with the Toolkit for Mainstreaming Gender in MIF Projects.

Donors

EcoMicro is generously supported by the following partners:

Global Affairs Canada leads Canada’s international development and humanitarian assistance. In the Caribbean, a region of focus for Canada's international development efforts, the aim is to help build a more prosperous and integrated Caribbean community, one that is able to generate clean economic growth, and eventually provide opportunity and security to its citizens. To achieve this aim, Canada has directed support at creating an enabling and predictable environment for inclusive and green economic growth, advancing the rule of law and strengthening legal institutions, and improving the capacities of the governments to manage and respond to climate change and natural disasters.

At the Inter-American Development Bank , we work to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. Through financial and technical support for countries working to reduce poverty and inequality, we help improve health and education, and advance infrastructure. Our aim is to achieve development in a sustainable, climate-friendly way. With a history dating back to 1959, today we are the leading source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean. We provide loans, grants, and technical assistance; and we conduct extensive research. We maintain a strong commitment to achieving measurable results and the highest standards of increased integrity, transparency, and accountability.

IDB Lab supports economic growth and poverty reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean through encouraging increased private investment and advancing private sector development. It works with the private sector to develop, finance, and execute innovative business models that benefit entrepreneurs and poor and low-income households; partners with a wide variety of institutions from the private, public and nonprofit sectors; evaluates results; and shares lessons learned.

The Nordic Development Fund (NDF) is the joint development finance institution of the five Nordic countries. The objective of NDF's operations is to facilitate climate change investments in low-income countries. NDF finances in cooperation with bilateral and multilateral development institutions. The operations mirror the Nordic countries’ priorities in the areas of climate change and development. NDF’s capital is provided from the development cooperation budgets of the five Nordic countries.