$24 million for Latin America's boldest ideas — unlocked in Quito this week

At the GET Forum in Quito this week — IDB Lab's entrepreneurship gathering, with about 2,800 people in the room — three deals totaling up to $24 million were signed: $11 million in results-based financing for biodiversity in Colombia, a $10 million loan to Uruguayan fintech Paigo to widen credit for small businesses, and $3 million to strengthen Honduras's startup ecosystem. President Daniel Noboa opened the forum, Ecuador reactivated its National Council for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and announced a fund of funds. An IDB Lab study notes Ecuador's early-stage entrepreneurship rate is 30 percent — among the highest in the world. The forum drew 154 startups, 167 corporations, and 59 investors.