Established in 1993 as part of the IDB Group, the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF) is a driving force behind innovative private sector development in Latin America and the Caribbean, using both grants and investments to help micro and small businesses thrive. MIF projects are designed to first test, then demonstrate the effectiveness of innovative concepts. However MIF does not do this alone, but rather has approved more than 1700 projects, primarily grants, with over 800 civil society, private sector, and government partners.

Since 1993, the MIF has committed close to $1.8 bn and mobilized an additional $1.9 bn from other partners. Apart from being a source of funding, MIF is also a fountain of knowledge, committed to sharing the lessons learned from its work with this growing network of private sector institutions, research centers, NGOs and public sector partners.

Projects fall under under three Access Areas: Access to Finance, Access to Markets and Capabilities and Access to Basic Services.

MIF uses grants and investments - loans, equity and guarantees - to stimulate private sector development. Most MIF funding is in the form of grants targeting small, innovative pilot projects. MIF investments are geared towards micro and small businesses that normally don't have access to capital, aiming to boost competitiveness and promote further investor interest in areas such as microfinance and venture capital funds.

MIF grant projects are undertaken in partnership with a wide array of both public and private organizations, which also contribute from 30 to 50% of the total project cost, depending on the country. Generally, for grant financing, private sector institutions must be non-profit and can include non-governmental organizations (NGOs), industry associations, chambers of commerce and foundations. Under certain circumstances grants are provided to for-profit organizations as well.

MIF investment projects typically fund private financial institutions, such as banks, cooperatives, microfinance institutions or NGOs, who can then onlend the resources to the benefit of micro and small businesses region wide. MIF has also had an active hand in promoting investment in venture capital funds throughout the region, partnering with co-investors to help entrepreneurs and business start-ups get off the ground.

Funds for MIF activities come from contributions made by the 39 member countries from Latin America and the Caribbean, North America, Europe and Asia that make up the Donors Committee. MIF was originally equipped with $1.2 billion to carry out its mandate.

The Donors Committee has the final say in the approval of all projects, with voting share based on contribution level. In the original Agreement Establishing the Multilateral Investment Fund, the United States and Japan were the largest contributors at $500 million each, followed by Spain with $50 million.

Securing resources for future MIF projects, the replenishment process for MIF funds was successfully completed in 2005, with five new countries - the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Sweden, and Haiti - becoming donors with the advent of MIF II in March 2007. China is the newest member, joining in January 2009.

For more information on the replenishment of the MIF II, please read these documents:

• Agreement and MIF II Administration and Report Donors
• Replenishment: Overview, Status of resources and Action Plan
• Working Paper on MIF Replenishment
• Proposed Strategic Framework
• Managing for Results

Projects in all sovereign developing member countries of the Inter-American Development Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank are potentially eligible for MIF funding.

MIF seeks projects within the three Access Areas: Access to Finance, Access to Markets and Capabilities and Access to Basic Services.

In terms of investment projects, the MIF has supported the microfinance industry in Latin America and the Caribbean through loans and investments for institutions microfinance, and has also been the main investor in several funds venture capital. In addition, MIF has begun to actively support a number of instruments alternative financing such as factoring and leasing, and related instruments to remittances.

Please visit the Financing Opportunities section for more information.

Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay and Venezuela.

Haiti, France, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom joined the ranks of MIF donors with the initiation of MIF II in March 2007. China is the newest member, joining in January 2009.

MIF has funded over 1,700 projects with various partners through the region.

MIF has financed over $1.1 billion in grants and investments towards private sector development projects.

Please see the Financing Opportunities section for a detailed explanation of the application process.

Please visit the Contact Us page to see our country offices throughout the region.