IDB Lab, in partnership with Latimpacto, the Green Climate Fund, the Bayer Foundation, and Coca-Cola, has launched a new call for proposals for the Catalytic Green Fund, an initiative designed to strengthen the decarbonization ecosystem in the region. Aiming to reduce up to 6.2 million tons of CO₂ over the next five years, this call will mobilize US$5 million to support 350 entrepreneurs developing innovative solutions focused on creating net-zero value chains.

By Manami Nakayama, Estrella Peinado and Edgar Parra

To promote the development of the circular economy in Colombia, IDB Lab will finance a project to enhance the processing of engineering plastics. The project seeks to increase the recovery and recycling of materials by implementing more efficient and automated infrastructure and technology, which will also contribute to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The winners will present their solutions on October 31 and November 1 in IDB Lab Forum, the IDB’s flagship event focused on innovation and technology.

The international meeting organized by the IDB's innovation and venture capital laboratory will promote innovative solutions that generate impact at scale in Latin America and the Caribbean. 

IDB Lab, the Inter-American Development Bank's innovation and venture capital lab, will hold the third edition of IDB Lab Forum Oct. 31-Nov. 1 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Forum is a flagship event dedicated to business innovation, venture capital and technology for development.

IDB Lab, the innovation arm of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), along with the IDB and the German Cooperative and Raiffeisen Confederation (DGRV), launched LAC E-Coop, a program to help rural organizations access clean energy for their productive activities through financial services and training. 

IDB Lab's study provides a comprehensive overview of female entrepreneurship in STEM to help close the gender gap.

Women-led companies in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) are raising more capital, but not enough of it, even though venture capital funds see the advantages and market opportunities of investing in these women-led companies.

IDB Lab, the innovation laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank Group (IDB Group), in collaboration with the IDB and IDB Invest, and the U.S. government, through its agency USAID, is launching the Sargassum Innovation Quest. The initiative aims to harness the potential of the sargassum biomass and improve the resilience in Latin America and the Caribbean’s coastal communities through the use of advanced technology and innovative practice.

The Inter-American Development Bank, IDB Invest, and IDB Lab launched today the 2024-2025 Natural Capital and Biodiversity Mainstreaming Action Plan, which aims to put biodiversity and natural capital more embedded within the Bank’s operations in areas where nature can support economic, social, and climate-smart development. 

By Carolina Carrasco, Luis Alejandro Fernandez and Raquel Trigo

When migrants reach their destination, they face numerous challenges. Not only do they leave behind a personal life, but also a job, a business, or references about their financial, professional, and/or commercial reputation, among others, which are crucial for conducting transactions and gaining recognition and trust in the new host society. Financial inclusion is a pillar for the economic and social integration of migrant populations.

The Inter-American Development Bank's innovation laboratory, IDB Lab, has launched two innovative initiatives to protect biodiversity and promote sustainable development in the Amazon basin.