He Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) launched the program on Wednesday “IDB for the Americas”, with which it seeks to encourage the US private sector to become involved in large public infrastructure projects in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Specifically, the program seeks to promote the participation of US companies in government contracts financed by the IDB in the region that exceed US$4 billion, the development bank said in a statement.
The program will focus on increasing the scope and size of US investments in the health, water, energy, transportation, agriculture, and digital infrastructure sectors.
So far, the IDB points out, US companies get more than 61% of all IDB-financed contracts for which they apply (the highest success rate of all non-borrowing member countries), but they are less likely to bid on large contracts.
The average contract size for US companies in the infrastructure sector is US$282,000, while that of Spain, for example, is US$4.7 million.
“IDB for the Americas” was presented this Wednesday at an event attended by the president of the IDB, Ilan Goldfajn, as well as government and private sector leaders, including the US Undersecretary of Commerce, Don Graves, the president of the Chamber of Commerce, Suzanne Clark, or senior managers at companies like Intel or Amazon.
“The program will provide American businesses with a unique platform that takes advantage of innovative technologies and financial tools” to expand its presence in Latin America, Goldfajn said.
The IDB program will focus on three pillars: public procurement, trade and investment, and financing.
To this end, the IDB will organize tours in the United States to raise awareness and facilitate connections between US and Latin American and Caribbean companies.
In addition, it will launch three mobile applications where infrastructure developers, technology developers and consulting firms will be able to obtain real-time information on IDB-financed procurement and connect with local partners and suppliers, as well as download all bidding documents.
The agreement also contains a partnership with the US Chamber of Commerce and other business organizations to raise awareness about business opportunities with the IDB and the region.
The United States currently exports more than $720 billion worth of goods and services to the region (twenty% more than US exports to the European Union and three times what it exports to China).
In addition, the United States represented the 38% of total investment in the region in 2022. More than a quarter of multinational companies and their subsidiaries do business in the region, according to IDB data.
Source: EFE
Source: Gestion
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