In 2000, the fourth year of the IDB's five-year Microenterprise Development Strategy (1997-2001), the Bank supported a range of efforts to help increase the incomes and productivity of urban and rural microentreprenuers in 26 Latin American and Caribbean countries. In these efforts, IDB collaborated with different private and public sector organizations. The Bank employed a variety of instruments, such as loans, equity investments, and grant-based technical assistance. Some instruments strengthen capacity of local institutions serving microentrepreneurs. Others aim to deepen the financial resources available to the full range of the microenterprise continuum, from those owned by the poor to high growth start-ups.