On Friday 16 December, the European Investment Bank (EIB) celebrated 30 years of operations in the Dominican Republic with a ceremony at the European Union's offices in the country.
Head of the Regional Representation for the Caribbean Yves Ferreira said: “Throughout its three decades in the country, the EIB has been a key and unwavering partner of the main financial sector players supporting the micro and small business segment (MSMEs) in the Dominican Republic. This is particularly true for Banco Ademi, which is its biggest client in the country in terms of completed operations and of which it was a shareholder for 20 years.”
He continued by indicating that the EIB loans and technical assistance aim to develop the potential of MSMEs by financing investment projects helping to diversify the economy of the Dominican Republic, foster economic growth and create jobs.
He emphasised that, to meet these goals, the EIB promotes projects for the economic inclusion of women and young people, digitalisation and climate change mitigation and adaptation, among other cross-cutting sustainable development areas.
From Luxembourg, EIB Vice-President Ricardo Mourinho Felix said: “The EIB is pleased with the wide-ranging and fruitful partnership it has had with the Dominican Republic over the past 30 years. Looking ahead, we will continue to work closely with our partners in the country to ensure the impact of our investments.”
The EIB in the Dominican Republic
The EIB is the largest multilateral public sector bank in the world, and allocates around 10% of its loans to investments beyond the European Union.
It began operations in the Dominican Republic on 16 December 1992 with the signature of the first finance contract granted to Banco Ademi for a ECU 3 million loan.
Banco Ademi itself opened in 1983 in marginalised neighbourhoods of Santo Domingo as a non-governmental organisation, becoming one of the largest providers of financial services for micro-enterprises and small businesses (SMEs).
Banco Ademi became a regulated bank in 1997 and began operations in January 1998. Since May 2013, the bank has been authorised to offer all the many banking products available in the country.
The EIB has been working with Banco Ademi for 30 years, and has signed 14 loan and equity agreements with it totalling €83 million. Since 2006, it has supported other national micro-finance institutions such as Adopem, Fondesa and Fundación Dominicana de Desarrollo.
Banco Ademi was the EIB’s very first microfinance client. From 2014 to 2022, it successfully managed the credit component of the European Union’s programme to support the banana-growing sector. This means it has a close partnership with Team Europe.
EU Ambassador to the Dominican Republic Katja Afheldt said: “The programme we have implemented with Banco Ademi is the perfect example of successful cooperation. It has helped the Dominican Republic to firmly establish its banana exports on the European market and it will continue to support local producers by providing microloans long after the close of the project earlier this year.”
The EIB has provided a total of €491 million in the Dominican Republic, supporting projects in the energy, transport, tourism, infrastructure and financial sectors.
The EIB has granted almost €2 billion in loans and equity investments to support economic development in the Caribbean since its first operation in the region in 1968.
