the mif blog

Por Juan Carlos Navarro,  Líder Técnico Principal de Ciencia y Tecnología en la División de Competitividad e Innovación del BID

En el prólogo de la publicación más reciente de la División de Innovación y Competitividad del BID, The New Imperative of Innovation, Josh Lerner y Andrew Speen dicen que “Fomentar la innovación es una tarea desalentadora”. Es difícil estar en desacuerdo. La complejidad propia de los sistemas de innovación obliga a actuar sobre un buen número de elementos de forma simultánea – como la investigación, gestión de tecnología, legislación sobre derechos de propiedad intelectual, cultura empresarial, instrumentos financieros, y todavía muchos más – , lo que solo difícilmente consigue cristalizar en buenos resultados en contados casos.

Over the last decade, Latin America and the Caribbean have seen unprecedented development gains. Over 60 million people escaped poverty and over 100 million people entered into the middle class. For the first time in the history of the region, there are more people in the middle class than in poverty.

By Anne Ravanona, Founder and CEO of Global Invest Her
 
Looking for funding is difficult for any entrepreneur and the hard truth is that it is harder for women entrepreneurs. Today, only 4% of Venture Capitalist and 20% of Business Angels in the US are women. In the UK, only 14% of business angels are women and am pretty sure the figures may be even lower in Latin America. Ok so that was the bad news! The good news is that things are moving forward, although still slowly.

Por Yves Lesenfants  y Juan Luis Landeta*
 

NEXSO, the open platform for innovation and knowledge developed by the MIF that facilitates interaction between innovators and development actors in Latin America and the Caribbean, is  proud to have been part of the call for proposals at the recent IDB Demand Solutions Venture Night, which sought to recognize the work of young innovators, between 18 and 35 years old, to improve lives in cities across the region.

Are Latin American governments interested in paying only for what works? Are there investors who want to link their financial returns to improved social outcomes? Can governments, private investors, and nonprofits work together to solve intractable social problems? These are some of the questions we asked ourselves at the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund, before launching a regional program to support social impact bonds (SIBs) and results-based financing models in Latin America and the Caribbean.