Press Release
April 21, 2006
IDB to host meeting on private investment opportunities in the Caribbean health and wellness sector on May 9
Senior government officials from The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, international and Caribbean investors, and representatives of Caribbean regional organizations will meet on May 9, 2006 at IDB headquarters in Washington, D.C., to explore business opportunities in the health and wellness sector in the region.
Four key issues will be addressed at the meeting: the nature and scope of the health and wellness sector in the Caribbean; market opportunities; barriers to entry; and potential IDB support for sector development. The meeting will give the IDB and the Caribbean governments an opportunity to learn about the needs of potential private sector investors and entrepreneurs and to discuss how the private sector can work with the IDB and the governments to take advantage of investment opportunities.
Sessions will include a report on the results of a market research study on the health and wellness sector in the English-speaking Caribbean by Dr. Leroy Miller of International Business Strategies, the consulting firm that conducted the study; panel presentations by international and Caribbean investors and the IDB; and working groups on healthcare education, telehealth, eldercare, assisted living, skilled nursing facilities, wellness and alternative health. Among the participants will be investors and partners, representatives of Caribbean governments, including investment agencies, and IDB officials.
The IDB is a regional development bank that finances socioeconomic development projects in Latin America and the Caribbean. It lends primarily to central government agencies with sovereign guarantees. Up to 10 percent of IDB lending may be provided for private sector projects.
The scope of such private sector lending was recently expanded from infrastructure projects to all other sectors, such as health and education. Under the new framework, the Bank may also finance public-private partnerships and operations that do not have sovereign guarantees.
° More Information
Please contact Sandra Henry at (202)
623-2684 or sandrah@iadb.org.° Links
Agenda
° Press ContactAlexandra Russell-Bitting alexandrarb@iadb.org (202) 623-3454
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