MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Belize Credit Union League, IDB Partner on Green Microfinance as Part of Caribbean EcoMicro Program

The US-based multilateral Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) recently signed a four-year deal with the 11-member Belize Credit Union League (BCUL) to provide 380 farmers and fishermen with access to “climate-smart” technologies intended to increase food productivity and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The partners will also “implement a risk modeling framework to evaluate the impacts of climate change on the…loan portfolio” of three BCUL members, Saint Francis Xavier Credit Union, Saint Martin’s Credit Union and Toledo Teachers Credit Union. The program includes gender analysis, risk modeling, business training for entrepreneurs to prepare for climate change, and a total of USD 850,000 in green financing. The agreement is co-funded by the government of Canada as part of IDB Lab’s EcoMicro Program, a technical cooperation facility. EcoMicro also enjoys funding from the governments of five northern European countries via the Nordic Development Fund. While the technologies to be financed have not been specified, IDB Lab has supported conversions from diesel to electric cars and the development of geothermal energy in other countries.

Founded in 1956, BCUL has total assets of BZD 1 million (USD 500,000) as of 2016.

Founded in 1959, IDB is a development finance institution that serves Latin America and the Caribbean through four members: IDB, IDB Invest, the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) and the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF). Headquartered in the US city of Washington, the IDB Group has 48 member countries, including 26 countries located in Latin America and the Caribbean. It works with governments, companies and NGOs to finance sectors such as financial services, health, education, renewable energy, transportation and telecommunications. During 2017, IDB disbursed loans totaling USD 10 billion and had USD 89 billion in loans outstanding.

By Michelle Fleming, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

BCUL press release
http://www.belizecreditunionleague.org/press-release-bcul-partners-with-idb-lab-and-global-affairs-canada-to-pilot-micro-finance-in-belize/

BCUL financial data
http://www.belizecreditunionleague.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/BCUL-AGM-REPORT-2016.pdf

IDB’s Financial Innovation Lab
https://www.iadb.org/en/financial-innovation-lab/financial-innovation-lab

IDB homepage
https://www.iadb.org/

MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: IDB’s Financial Innovation Lab, Oikocredit Invest $5.7m in Equity in Sempli of Colombia to Expand Fintech Services for SMEs
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-idbs-financial-innovation-lab-oikocredit-invest-5-7m-in-equity-in-sempli-of-colombia-to-expand-fintech-services-for-smes/

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