Country Perspectives: The Journey of Central America and the Dominican Republic

The Journey of Central America and the Dominican Republic in the “Unlocking IP-backed Financing Series” provides an overview of the IP finance landscape across Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama, where legal frameworks generally allow intellectual property assets to be used as collateral but the practical use of IP-backed financing remains at an early stage. The report examines key challenges, including limited market experience, limited familiarity with intangible assets within the financial sector, the limited use of valuation practices, and the need for stronger links between IP, innovation and financial ecosystems. It also highlights growing interest among financial institutions in exploring new financing approaches and identifies actions to strengthen technical capacity, institutional coordination and the gradual integration of IP into financing mechanisms across the region.