BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – IDB Invest and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB / the Bank) signed a $25 million guarantee facility for trade-related assets, aimed at expanding access to trade finance in smaller markets across the Caribbean.
The agreement establishes a framework under which CDB will issue partial guarantees over IDB Invest’s Trade Finance Facilitation Program (TFFP), a program with a 20-year track record financing trade in Latin America and the Caribbean. This mechanism allows for risk-participating while maintaining efficient capital deployment to scale trade flows and support private-sector-led growth, through the mobilisation of common resources.
Access to adequate and timely trade finance is essential for economic development, yet it remains a challenge for companies across Latin America and the Caribbean. About 80 percent of global trade relies on this type of funding, with the global trade finance gap estimated at $2.5 trillion, especially affecting emerging markets.
“This partnership with the Caribbean Development Bank reflects our commitment to expanding access to trade finance across the Caribbean while using innovative risk-participation instruments to maximise development impact,” said James P. Scriven, CEO of IDB Invest. “By working together, we can channel more resources to local financial institutions, support trade flows, and help build more resilient and competitive economies in the region.”
Since 2005, TFFP has supported over 36,000 trade transactions totalling more than $21 billion (including $4.8 billion in mobilisation).
The program will focus on supporting financial institutions in CDB borrowing member countries (BMCs), including The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago, helping facilitate imports and exports of essential goods and commodities.
“Expanding trade finance in our markets demands both regional insight and the right instruments to reduce borrowing costs and unlock capital. This facility brings both to bear and is grounded in our drive to widen access to finance across our BMCs. Working alongside IDB Invest, we are taking concrete steps to close the trade finance gap and advance sustainable economic growth across the Caribbean,” said Daniel M. Best, CDB president.
The agreement was signed during Sustainability Week 2026, IDB Invest’s flagship event, which brought together more than 800 participants in Barbados — including 350 private sector companies — to explore business and investment opportunities and support private‑sector‑led growth across Latin America and the Caribbean.
