By Julian Rogers. mycaribbean@gmail.com
The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has laid out an ambitious vision for the region’s future, defined by resilience, innovation, and transformation. At its 2025 Annual News Conference, the bank’s leadership reinforced the urgency of addressing climate change, economic diversification, and private sector engagement while unveiling new financing mechanisms to accelerate development.
At the heart of this year’s event was the theme of “Rebirth: Innovate, Transform, and Thrive,” articulated by CDB President Daniel Best. This guiding principle sets the tone for a more agile and impactful institution that adapts to regional and global realities while remaining steadfast in its core mission of reducing poverty and fostering sustainable growth.
A Caribbean at a Crossroads
The Caribbean faces unprecedented global challenges, from geopolitical tensions threatening trade to climate-induced disasters that put economies at risk. But, as President Best emphasised, this is also a moment of opportunity.
“Our region faces uncertainties that we have never before contemplated. Geopolitical shifts, financial aid withdrawals, and extreme climate events have created new risks. But they also present a moment for renewal—one where the Caribbean must harness its strengths and rethink how development is approached.”
To this end, the CDB has mobilised $460 million in concessional financing through the 11th replenishment of the Special Development Fund (SDF), its largest pool of grant and low-interest loan resources. A significant 35% of these funds will be directed toward climate financing, supporting adaptation projects, disaster response, and sustainability initiatives.
Financing a Climate-Resilient Future
The Caribbean remains one of the most climate-vulnerable regions in the world, with extreme weather events becoming more frequent and intense.
The devastating impact of Hurricane Beryl in 2024 reinforced the need for stronger pre-disaster financing mechanisms and resilience-building investments.
During her presentation, Valerie Isaac, CDB’s Chief of Environmental Sustainability, detailed the bank’s growing emphasis on climate financing, including:
- $101.5 million in climate finance in 2024 (33.5% of CDB’s total financing).
- Expanding access to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), increasing CDB’s project development capacity to $250 million per programme—a fivefold increase.
- The launch of a Climate Change Project Preparation Fund, helping Caribbean countries design bankable adaptation and mitigation projects.
- Greater focus on nature-based solutions, coastal resilience, and early warning systems.
However, funding alone is not enough. The CDB emphasised that climate resilience must be fully integrated into national budgets, infrastructure projects, and private-sector investment strategies.
“We can no longer be surprised when we are impacted by a natural disaster,” said President Best. “Our region is seven times more likely to be affected by extreme weather than larger economies. That means we must plan, build, and finance accordingly.”
The Urgency of Economic Diversification
The Caribbean’s reliance on tourism and commodity exports remains a double-edged sword. While these sectors have rebounded post-pandemic, CDB economists warn that slow growth, inflationary pressures, and external shocks make diversification an urgent priority.
Ian Durant, CDB’s Director of Economics, highlighted the modest regional growth of 1.7% (excluding Guyana) in 2024. Guyana’s booming oil sector masks broader economic vulnerabilities. Durant stressed the need for Caribbean economies to move beyond tourism dependence and build more competitive, high-value industries.
“We need to modernise our logistics infrastructure, reduce trade barriers, and strengthen supply chains across the region. The potential for agri-processing, digital services, and clean energy industries is enormous—but only if we create the right ecosystem for businesses to thrive.”
The CDB is backing this vision with targeted private-sector financing, including:
- A $30 million line of credit for private-sector-led infrastructure and energy projects.
- $399 million in financing for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), focusing on women-led businesses and agricultural entrepreneurs.
- Blended finance and risk-sharing models to unlock private investment.
Breaking Barriers to Development Finance
One of the biggest hurdles facing Caribbean entrepreneurs and governments is access to affordable financing. Despite $6 billion in excess liquidity in the region’s banking system, businesses struggle to secure credit, and an estimated $10 billion in development financing demand remains unmet.
To tackle this, CDB is introducing new financial instruments, including:
- A regional trade facilitation programme to bridge funding gaps for exporters.
- Guarantee schemes for commercial banks and central banks to de-risk investments.
- Expanded concessional financing for climate resilience and sustainable energy.
“We need to get capital moving—both public and private. The region has the ideas, the entrepreneurs, and the demand. The missing link is financial access, and CDB is working aggressively to change that,” said Daniel Best, CDB President.
Strengthening Implementation & Project Delivery
A recurring theme of the CDB’s 2025 agenda is not just financing more projects—but ensuring they are executed efficiently and deliver real impact.
O’Reilly Lewis, Acting Director of Projects, acknowledged that many Caribbean governments struggle with implementation capacity, leading to delays, cost overruns, and underutilised funding.
To address this, the CDB is:
- Conducting a regional study on project implementation bottlenecks.
- Enhancing technical assistance for governments and private sector players.
- Streamlining internal processes to accelerate project approval and execution.
Lewis noted that a 10% improvement in project implementation could lead to billions in additional development impacts across the region.
A Bank in Transformation
Beyond regional transformation, the CDB itself is undergoing its transformation. President Best acknowledged that many of the bank’s policies, processes, and systems date back decades and must be modernised.
To that end, the CDB is:
- Adopting new policies to increase agility and responsiveness.
- Developing three new financial products to serve better-borrowing member countries.
- Expanding partnerships with international donors, climate finance institutions, and regional development banks.
The Caribbean’s Defining Moment
The 2025 CDB Annual Press Conference was not just an update on numbers. It was also a call to action.
The Caribbean is at a critical juncture:
✅ Climate change is no longer a future threat but a present reality.
✅ Economic diversification is no longer a luxury but an urgent necessity.
✅ Access to financing is no longer just a discussion point. It requires bold solutions.
“This moment has come to us, and we will not turn away from it,” Best affirmed. “We will not boast of our raised capital unless it reaches the people who need it most. Our Caribbean Development Bank exists to serve, to transform, and to build a future that is not only resilient but prosperous.”
The challenge is immense, but so is the opportunity. The CDB has set the stage—the question now is whether governments, businesses, and citizens will seize it.
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