by Linda Straker
- Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) Regional Office for Caribbean is in Trinidad and Tobago
- CAF was a sponsor of May 2023 “Unleash” creative conference
- CAF Board of Directors approved Grenada as series C shareholder
Grenada is one of 3 Caricom countries the Board of Directors of the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF) has approved to join its membership as series C shareholders. The other Caricom members holding Series C Shareholder membership are Barbados and Jamaica.
“The Board of Directors of CAF met in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and authorised the allocation of its shares to facilitate the entry of new Caribbean countries through the incorporation of Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada as Series “C” members. This will allow these countries to access the technical, financial and knowledge services offered by the bank to its member countries to improve the quality of life of citizens,” said a recent news release from the bank, which is also called the CAF.
According to the Agreement Establishing CAF, Ordinary Capital stock carries a total of US$18,000,000,000 and is distributed in 3 Series: “A”, “B”, and “C”.
Ordinary Series “C” shareholders to which Grenada belongs, is composed of 694,000 registered shares with a value of US$5,000 each, for a total of US$3,470,000,000, the subscription of which corresponds to legal entities or individual persons outside of the member countries.
While Guarantee Capital Stock Series “C,” composed of 700,000 registered shares with a value of US5,000 each, for a total amount of US$3,500,000,000, the subscription of which corresponds to legal entities or individual persons outside of the member countries.
“Our positioning in the Caribbean will give a new dimension to an organisation that was created by 6 Andean countries (Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela), which now 56 years later, has 21 shareholder countries and is one of the main sources of multilateral financing in the region. This expansion of CAF in the Caribbean will lead us to become the development bank with the widest coverage in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Sergio Díaz-Granados, Executive President of CAF.
The release said that CAF has an ambitious agenda to promote regional integration as well as the sustainable and inclusive development of the region. “CAF is fully committed to providing development assistance to address the unique needs of Caribbean islands and small states, which are disproportionately impacted by the effects of climate change. Within the framework of the Bridgetown Initiative, CAF has already committed US$ 15 million in support of the Blue-Green Bank initiative led by Barbados,” the release disclosed.
During a national address in June 2023, Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell said that Government intended to join CAF as part of efforts to have access to new sources of financing for developmental projects. CAF was also a sponsor of the “Unleash” creative conference held in May 2023.
18 months ago, CAF established its Regional Office for the Caribbean in Trinidad and Tobago to consolidate its development assistance to the Caribbean, particularly in support of climate action, water, energy, and food security, sustainable tourism, modernisation of infrastructure and digital transformation, among other sectors.
