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Co-funded by the European Union

Improving Private Sector Lending in the Caribbean

Location

Anguilla, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Antigua und Barbuda, The Bahamas, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands, Trinidad and Tobago

Topic

Access to Finance

Beneficiary

Caribbean Development Bank (CBD)

Status

Completed

Year

2022

Context

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has requested support on how to structure its private sector lending and for a market study on the potential for trade finance in the region

Objective

A first confidential study on how to best structure CDB’s private sector lending and on options for on how to access guarantee schemes was finalised in August 2022. The study also provided guidelines on how to apply to selected relevant guarantee programmes.

 

The resulting recommendations have been submitted to CDB senior management and provide guidance for strategic decision-making. 

 

CDB has also requested support in assessing the feasibility and market potential of setting up a Trade Finance and Supply Chain Finance Facility for the Caribbean region, with the aim of improving access to financing especially for MSMEs. The market study delivered mid-2022 suggests a considerable potential for CDB to become active in trade and supply chain finance in the Caribbean. Guidelines for an appropriate institutional and financial configuration for this facility and the structure of the financial instruments it should offer are currently being developed.

Result

The recommendations of both these studies were incorporated into the institution’s updated strategic plan. Further work is ongoing on how to reorganise the bank’s private sector fund, and the bank has recently recruited two new staff members who will contribute to examine the organisational and operational implications of implementing supply chain finance in the region. Based on the study on guarantee instruments, CDB applied to the last round of support under the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+): a market assessment study is being carried out to complete this application.

Testimonial

As a result of the private sector lending study, CDB decided to dedicate resources to preparing and sub mitting a proposal to EFSD+ (European Fund for Sustainable Development, a guarantee tool set up by the European Union).

“The studies provide us with the background and information that we need to make a strategic decision. The great value of the studies is that they serve us with options on how we can enhance our private sector engagement and lending

Miguel Almeyda Casillas – Head of the Private Sector Division, Caribbean Development Bank
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