Latin America and the Caribbean

CDC Development Solutions manages several programs in Latin America and the Caribbean focused on agribusiness market linkages, community development, tourism, and SME development. CDC Development Solutions has partnered with both the private and public sectors in Latin America, and our clients have included multinationals such as Goldcorp and donor agencies such as the Global Development Alliance of USAID.  Below, please find brief descriptions of the work that we do across the continent. Click here for more information about our work in Latin America and the Caribbean,  or contact John Gohring.

CDS in Latin America and the Caribbean

Brazil

In Brazil, CDC Development Solutions works on programs focused on MSME development, the reduction of crime, and the mainstreaming of rights of underserved groups and the disabled. CDC Development Solutions works with the IBM Corporate Service Corps and coordinates diverse teams of IBM staff working pro bono with a number of local NGOs. IBM’s Corporate Service Corps is an innovative initiative that seeks to promote economic growth in emerging markets while providing new global business and leadership opportunities for IBM staff members. The Corporate Service Corps is part of IBM’s new Global Citizenship Portfolio—a major investment in employee development with the goal of providing staff with the skills and experience needed to lead in the global economy.

Guatemala

In partnership with Goldcorp, Inc. (previously Glamis Gold), CDC Development Solutions designed and implemented a community development program that raised living standards in two of the poorest communities in Guatemala. The Integrated Community Development Program (ICDP) built the capacity of municipal governments and provided services in health, enterprise development, vocational education, agro-forestry, and environmental management. As a means of ensuring local ownership of the project, CDC Development Solutions created a Guatemalan NGO, the Fundación Sierra Madre (FSM), to coordinate and deliver all of the services provided in the communities. As planned at the outset of the program, FSM is now a locally-owned NGO, and CDC Development Solutions is an advisor. The ICDP Program is highlighted on Goldcorp’s Corporate Responsibility page on their website.

Guyana

In Guyana, CDC Development Solutions worked with local firms to maximize their benefits from international trade agreements and to assist them in exploiting niche export markets in the wood products, fisheries, tourism, and agribusiness industries. MBA Enterprise Corps Advisors and short-term volunteers worked with hundreds of stakeholders - including farmers, business associations, marketing groups, industry representatives, Guyanese exporters and US importers - to identify gaps in the supply chain, distinguish export-ready farmers and artisans, and work with them to create new marketing and branding plans. Through these activities, CDC Development Solutions empowered local and national groups to more effectively promote Guyanese products. Partners in Guyana included the Carana Corporation, the New Guyana Marketing Corporation, the Guyana Ministry of Agriculture, the National Agricultural Research Institute, U.S. importers, and Guyanese exporting firms.

Jamaica

Through our wholly-owned subsidiary, CDC Jamaica, CDC Development Solutions has been active in Jamaica since 2006 supporting the development of innovative business relationships that strengthen the linkages between small-holding farmers and the Jamaican agroprocessing sector. CDC Development Solutions’ work in Jamaica provides training and technical expertise at all levels of the agricultural supply chain, from the individual farmer, to the Extension Officer, to the agroprocessing firms servicing the country’s resort hotels and export markets. CDC Development Solutions takes a sustainable approach to agricultural development that focuses on preserving the unique biodiversity of the island nation. CDC Development Solutions’ partners in Jamaica include USAID, the Jamaican Ministry of Agriculture, Alcoa, and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

Regional Programs

Antigua, The Bahamas, Grenada, St. Kitts, Trinidad and Tobago

Through a partnership with the Organization of American States, CDC Development Solutions worked with locally-owned tourism operators, including hotels, restaurants, and tour operators across the Caribbean Basin to enhance their abilities to provide high-quality customer service to their international customers, to effectively market themselves in the international arena, and to upgrade their management practices and ICT infrastructure.

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