Dominican Republic: Building an Innovative and Inclusive Economy Towards 2030

By Guzmán Ariza, Attorneys at Law

According to the OECD Latin American Economic Outlook 2025, the nation’s development strategy is shifting from traditional growth to production transformation, underpinned by innovation, technology adoption, and international cooperation.

At the core of the Dominican Republic’s economic agenda is the Estrategia Nacional de Desarrollo 2030 — a national development strategy designed to promote inclusive, innovative, and sustainable growth. This plan aims to modernize production, strengthen human capital, and prepare the economy for global competitiveness. 

To coordinate policy implementation, the government has established the Cabinet of Innovation and Digital Development, which has launched two flagship initiatives:

Política Nacional de Innovación 2030 (PNI) — Focused on enhancing skills, fostering research and development, and creating innovation ecosystems through public‑private collaboration. 

Estrategia Nacional de Inteligencia Artificial (ENIA) — Aims to position the Dominican Republic as a regional leader in artificial intelligence, prioritizing smart government solutions, talent development, and data infrastructure. 

These programs reflect a broader push to integrate digital technologies into public services and business models, a crucial step to boost productivity across sectors.

Financing Innovation and Technology

Financing mechanisms are central to the transformation agenda. The Fondo de Apoyo a la Innovación (FAI) co‑finances technology transfer, patent support, and technical assistance, drawing on public, private, and international funds. The Fondo Nacional de Innovación y Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico, managed by the Ministry of Higher Education, supports scientific research at universities and research centres. 

International partners have also stepped in with significant financing:

A USD 300 million loan from the Inter‑American Development Bank to enhance productivity and innovation. 

Over USD 240 million from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation aimed at small, sustainable, and women‑led enterprises. 

USD 6.5 billion secured by the Caribbean Council for infrastructure modernization. 

These funds are helping Dominican businesses adopt new technologies and scale up operations, especially in sectors that have global growth potential. 

Global Partnerships and Integration

International cooperation plays a strategic role in the Dominican Republic’s transformation. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has developed a 2025–2028 Country Programme to support inclusive industrial transformation and strengthen micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs). 

Collaboration with the World Intellectual Property Organization has established training institutions in intellectual property, helping Dominican innovators protect and commercialize their inventions. 

The long‑standing European Union‑Dominican Republic partnership — which has channelled more than USD 1.2 billion over three decades — continues to promote sustainable development, including digital transformation initiatives under the EU‑LAC Digital Alliance. 

Comparative Social and Economic Progress

The Dominican Republic’s social and economic indicators show meaningful progress:

-Extreme poverty has declined significantly, from 26.7 % in 2016 to 7 % in 2023, reflecting improved living conditions and broader access to basic services. 

-The country’s export complexity — a measure of how diversified and technology‑intensive exports are — improved between 2016 and 2023, signalling a gradual shift toward more sophisticated economic activities. 

Despite these advances, productivity and innovation indicators remain below OECD averages, pointing to the need for continued investment in skills, technology, and market diversification. 

Since 2007, each edition of the annual Latin American Economic Outlook (LEO) analyses one of the challenges faced by the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region in its transition towards sustainable and inclusive development, comparing LAC’s performance with that of its peers, suggesting policy recommendations and providing examples for policy learning.