WASHINGTON, USA – The Inter-American Development Bank’s pioneering EYE bond program is expected to benefit more than 2.7 million students over the next four years, new data from the past year shows. During the period, IDB issued its first-ever Education, Youth and Employment (EYE) bond denominated in Norwegian kroner.
EYE bonds, which carry the triple-A credit rating of the IDB, help connect investors with IDB programs in education, youth and employment, in Latin America and the Caribbean. Since its launch, the IDB has issued 52 EYE bonds, for a total of $3.1 billion.
Over the next four years, projects supported by IDB EYE bonds are expected to train 266,000 teachers, test 725,000 students and train 8,000 parents and youth service providers. EYE bond programs benefited youths and students in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and Suriname, among others.
The program aims to solve the challenges of poverty and inequality through a life cycle approach, from early childhood care and education, through formal primary and secondary education, as well as facilitating labor market placement. It focuses on the Sustainable Development Goals of quality education, gender equality, decent work and economic growth, and reduced inequalities.
“We are thrilled with the transformative results we are seeing from our EYE bond program,” said Gustavo de Rosa, the IDB’s Vice-President of Finance. “EYE bonds provide more than a solid financial return. They provide a social return by investing in the human capital of Latin America and the Caribbean.”
The report provided several examples of projects supported by EYE Bonds, including a program to improve efficiency and quality in the education sector in Panama; strengthening of quality services of early childhood development in Ecuador; and skills development for global services in Jamaica.
Projects are evaluated and reviewed by the IDB’s operational staff, with assessments and monitoring of environmental and social impacts throughout the project cycle.
