The Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) is a member of the Inter-American
Development Bank (IDB) Group, with the mission to promote the economic
development Latin America and Caribbean
member countries by encouraging the establishment, expansion, and modernization of small and medium-sized private enterprises (SMEs).

On Monday, the IIC announced that it would launch a new US$80 million initiative for direct lending to SMEs in Latin America and the Caribbean. The initiative will provide loans and technical assistance packages to help primarily export-oriented SMEs meet emerging international best practices in corporate governance. According to the press release, the new loan initiative is part of a larger effort to target SMEs more directly and raise lending standards by integrating corporate governance improvements into IIC operations. It is also part of the IIC’s commitment to the Corporate Governance Development Framework. The Corporate Governance Development Framework was established in 2011 by development finance institutions to promote corporate governance at companies in which they invest. It currently has 31 development finance institutions as signatories.