Introducing: Martijn Groen – Alternate Executive Director for IDB Invest and Counselor at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

Martijn Groen currently serves as Alternate Executive Director for IDB Invest and Counselor at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Washington DC. In this role, he represents the Dutch position at the Board of the Bank and works on investment and strategic priorities across Latin America and the Caribbean.

The IDB Group is the largest multilateral bank focused on Latin America and the Caribbean, with more than USD 35 billion in annual financing in 2025. For Dutch companies, the IDB Group offers opportunities in sectors such as infrastructure, water, energy transition, logistics, and digitalization through procurement, project financing and private sector investments. Martijn also serves as a contact point for Dutch companies interested in working with the IDB Group in the region.

Before joining the IDB Group, Martijn worked as a career diplomat at the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with postings in Colombia, Zimbabwe and Iraq.

Beyond the numbers: Key trends reshaping Latin American jobs

Jobs are the main driver of poverty reduction. They help build more resilient and self-sufficient societies, reduce the need for humanitarian aid, and address the root causes of unrest and migration. Jobs were the key to fighting poverty in Latin America during its last period of sustained poverty reduction (2009-2014): strong employment creation and wage growth drove two-thirds of the decrease in poverty rates. After this prosperous timeframe, both poverty and labor market conditions have remained largely stagnant across the region (COVID-19 aside).

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