Volume 14 | November-December 2018
NEWS BULLETIN
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE ECOMICRO TEAM!
EcoMicro has 5 reasons to celebrate the beginning of 2019!
5 new projects in 5 countries...the perfect way to wrap up 2018 and move into 2019 for our clients, our donors, and ourselves - the EcoMicro Team !

We are thrilled to announce the signing of EcoMicro projects in Jamaica, Belize, and Guyana. We have also completed the design of 2 additional projects in Grenada and Dominica, with signings expected in the forthcoming weeks. This follows months of engagement, including the opportunity to visit for the first time our partner Financial Institutions (FIs) in their respective countries and meet the incredible teams that power their operations. So without further ado, meet our Executing Agencies.

In Jamaica, we will be working with COK Sodality Co-operative Credit Union Limited , which holds the largest membership among the credit unions in Jamaica and in the English-speaking Caribbean. In Belize, our partner will be the Belize Credit Union League , which has a membership of all 7 credit unions across the country. in Guyana, we will be working with the Institute of Private Enterprise Development , the oldest and largest microfinance institution with a wide branch network across urban, rural and hinterland communities. In Grenada, we will be working with the Grenada Development Bank , one of the best performing development banks in the Eastern Caribbean in terms of loan portfolio quality. Last but certainly not least, we will be working with the National Development Foundation of Dominica, which has a long history of serving the micro and small business sectors in the Commonwealth of Dominica through credit, business advisory services and training.

Given the longstanding experience of these FIs in the microfinance sector, they are strong local partners for EcoMicro. We are pleased to work together over the next 3-4 years to develop and test market-based green finance solutions in a variety of geographical and sectoral contexts.

All 5 projects will undertake the EcoMicro modular approach, which incorporates 3 mutually reinforcing interventions: (i) design and implementation of the green finance product; (ii) assessment of the FIs loan portfolio vulnerability to climate change; and (iii) greening the Fl through development of environmental guidelines and policies.

We take this opportunity to officially welcome them into the EcoMicro family and look forward to execution in the new year.

Read more on the newly-signed individual projects below (f urther details to follow on the EcoMicro projects in Grenada and Dominica as these are signed).
JAMAICA
Pictured from left to right (1 st picture): Mr. Jovan Johnson IDB Lab, Ms. Terry-Ann Segree IDB Lab, Ms. Therese Turner-Jones General Manager IDB Country Department Caribbean Group (CCB) and Country Representative for Jamaica, Ambassador Aloun Ndombet-Assamba JP COK Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Linda Miller COK Chief Operations Officer, Ms. Paul-Ann James COK Quality Control Officer and Administrative Assistant, Mr. Curven Whyte COK Micro Field Coordinator.
BELIZE
Pictured from left to right (2 nd picture): Ms. Marilyn Pinelo-Lee IDB Lab , Dr. Cassandra Rogers IDB Country Representative for Belize, Ms. Corine Robinson Fuller Executive Director Belize Credit Union League Limited, Mr. Lindburgh Smith Business Development Officer Belize Credit Union League Limited.
GUYANA
Pictured from left to right (1 st picture): Mr. Ramesh Persaud Chief Executive Officer Institute of Private Enterprise Development and Ms. Sophie Makonnen IDB Country Representative for Guyana.
The MIF is now IDB Lab!
KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTS
A Climate Risk Assessment Tool for Financial Institutions - Consolidated Report
Agriculture producers depend on the financial sector for their everyday operations. It therefore plays an important role in helping them achieve climate change resilience.

Still, there are several questions that must be addressed: How can climate resilience be incorporated into credit risk? When considering new ways of analyzing risks, how can it promote products and services? How to demonstrate the resilience benefits from using these products in a financial perspective?

Local financial sector specialists in Brazil utilize their local market knowledge to understand how to create feasible financial products for climate resilience. The overall objective is to develop a tool to enable financial institutions to: i) identify and quantify their business exposure to climate risks and; ii) implement measures to reduce this exposure.

Despite its initial regional focus, this work produces a methodology and tools that are replicable in other regions, sectors and countries. 

Read the full publication here.
The Status of Renewable Energy in the Caribbean: Ten Years of Island Innovation
This new report, published by Renewable Energy Caribbean, explores 10 years of progress in the Caribbean renewable energy market.

The success stories highlighted demonstrate how many islands have proved to be incubators for innovative renewable energy and smart grid systems.

Read the full publication here .
Connecting Disparate Data: How Blockchain can Improve Access to Finance for Caribbean SMEs
While there are several channels to access finance in the Caribbean, for formal sector growth and innovation, Traditional Incumbent Banks (TIBs) are considered the most reliable source of loans.

However, SMEs are subject to high interest rates to compensate for their perceived riskiness, owing to both their inability to provide reliable financial information and assets, and the weak legal enforcement mechanisms in cases of default.

In recent years, financial technology (FinTech) has been rapidly expanding the opportunities available for SMEs to access finance. 

Recognizing the integral economic role of SMEs throughout the region, this report sets out the role that blockchain technology can play in devising a new credential management system to address the obstacles faced by SMEs in accessing finance.

It identifies alternative data points that are the most effective and efficient indicators of creditworthiness: alternative payment data, social data, and psychometrics. 

Read the full publication here .
EcoMicro partners with  Financial Institutions to create Green Finance Products that build resilience of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and low-income households to climate change. This is an innovative approach to developing products that  facilitates access to sustainable, low-cost energy or adaptation technologies for MSMEs and low-income households.
EcoMicro is a Technical Cooperation Program by the IDB Lab, co-financed by Global Affairs Canada, IDB Lab and the Nordic Development Fund. The Global Affairs Canada contribution supports t he EcoMicro Caribbean Program .
Inter-American Development Bank | IDB Lab | (246) 627-8500 ecomicro@fomin.org | www.ecomicro.org