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We are the financial agent for innovators |
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An anniversary is more than a look back. It is, like this one celebrating 25 years of operations at the Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC), an opportunity to shape the future.
I am pleased to report that in a little more than two decades the IIC has become the IDB Group’s most effective tool for understanding small and medium-size enterprises and providing the support that meets their needs.
We are more committed than ever to our mandate to maximize developmental impact without sacrificing our own financial sustainability over the medium and long term. What is more, I am convinced that SMEs are the driving force for implementing policies of inclusion in the region and for bringing Latin America and the Caribbean into the world’s most dynamic value chains.
As have Latin America and the Caribbean, the IIC has weathered tough times to become what it is today: a sound organization that is able to successfully face future challenges.
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Our very make-up proves that strength—with the addition of China in 2009, the IIC’s member countries now include 15 of the world’s 20 largest economies, including the top 10.
But we have gone—and will go—farther than that. Over the past decade the IIC transformed its corporate culture to respond more efficiently and effectively to fast-changing demand.
The results are remarkable. We are a self-sustaining organization whose strategy is grounded in continually measuring credit risk and applying worldwide financial industry best practices.
We are creative, too, as well as prudential, in selecting our investments. When we open new markets or launch innovative products, we do so gradually to ensure that such initiatives are managed well.
The Corporation’s performance as a development finance institution has improved over the past decade, too. We measure in real time the developmental impact of the projects we finance, and our ability to add value for our clients has been recognized in many independent evaluations.
All of this, and more, has earned us the trust of the more than one million small and medium-size entrepreneurs we have supported over these 25 years. Based on that trust and their needs, with this anniversary message I also want to renew the IIC’s commitment to the future of Latin America and the Caribbean.
We will seek sustained, sustainable growth, and our money will be on innovation and value added as tools for bringing SMEs into the knowledge economy.
