Barbados to get $190 million in loans from IDB

Barbados is in line for approximately US$95 million (BDS$190 million) from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) this year as that institution prepares to just about triple its loan approvals for the region.

The majority of the US$95 million – US$75 million – is to go towards “programme to support environmental and economic development in Barbados”.

Of the remaining amount, US$1.25 million has been earmarked for strengthening of institutional and technical capacity for the country to meet the transparency requirements of the Paris Agreement; while about US$600,000 is to be made available for “enhancing sustainability assets in the context of a policy-based guarantee”.

IDB’s active loan portfolio in Barbados as of December 31, 2021 stood at around US$207 million. The active portfolio in the Caribbean as of December 31, 2021, is worth US$2.38 billion.

The actual approval to IDB member countries in the region in 2021 reached US$385 million, while this year it is expected to reach a record high of about US$1.125 billion.

This total takes account of loans from the IDB, and its private sector and innovation arms, IDB Invest and IDB Lab, as the financial development institution serves both government and private sector in its member countries in the region. (MM)