COSTA RICA ADVANCES TOWARDS A SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT BASED ON THE BIOECONOMY

National Bioeconomy Strategy is one year old since its launch.

The National Bioeconomy Portfolio was presented with 88 projects developed by MICITT with support from UNDP and IDB.

UNDP and the SBD signed an agreement with the objective of supporting the creation of new programs to support innovation and entrepreneurship specific to the bioeconomy.

San José, Monday August 30, 2021. Costa Rica’s commitment to advancing towards a sustainable development path based on the bioeconomy becomes a promising alternative to achieve the objective of cementing a Costa Rica with sustainable production of high added value in all its regions, focused on the fair and equitable use of its biodiversity, the circular use of biomass and biotechnological progress as a knowledge society.

This path proposed a year ago, within the framework of the National Bioeconomy Strategy, seeks the development of green and blue business opportunities, promotes social inclusion and the economic empowerment of women, favors resilience in the face of the climate crisis and the It also promotes decarbonization, helping the country to have clear instruments and tools to face the economic and planetary crisis, in the face of the loss of nature and the climate emergency.

“The National Bioeconomy Strategy today bears relevant results thanks to the hard inter-institutional work and alliances with strategic partners such as the United Nations Development Program and the Inter-American Development Bank. Thanks to them, today we can present a National Portfolio of Projects and the generation of alliances such as the Agreement between the Development Banking System and UNDP for the mobilization of financial resources for the Bioeconomy, among other affirmative actions that will allow us to consolidate the path towards the future. greener hand in hand with nature and based on science as one of the central axes of development “, said the Minister of Science, Innovation, Technology and Telecommunications, Paola Vega Castillo, during the inauguration of the event” Costa Rica advances towards Bioeconomy ”.

This event was organized by the Interministerial Bioeconomy Committee made up of the Ministry of Science, Innovation, Technology and Telecommunications (MICITT), the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Commerce (MEIC), the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) and the Development Banking System (SBD).

The National Bioeconomy Project Portfolio was developed by MICITT with the support of the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)

“This portfolio is a showcase for the country to present Bioeconomy projects at a global level, for which a project file has been diagrammed that condenses the relevant information in terms of commitment to the SDGs, technological maturity of the project, specific needs of financing and others. The strengthening of these projects facilitates the advance of Costa Rica towards a productive transformation based on sustainable and inclusive development. It also seeks to generate capacities in these projects to access national and international funds. ” said the Vice Minister of Science and Technology, Federico Torres Carballo, during his presentation at the activity.

To date, it has identified a total of 88 projects with financing needs that together exceed $ 8 million. These initiatives have different degrees of maturity, 44.9% are led by women and have varied needs for access to financing, training, alliances and mentoring.

To specifically address the financing needs identified in the portfolio construction process, UNDP through its Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) and the Development Banking System (SBD) signed a cooperation agreement that will allow support the creation of new programs for the placement of non-reimbursable funds, this in phases of incubation, acceleration and access to risk capital available for entrepreneurs and companies with a business model based on the bioeconomy

The Minister of Economy, Industry and Commerce, Victoria Hernández Mora, highlighted: “the opportunity that the current context represents to reinvent business models and take advantage of the two great assets that Costa Rica has in the face of the fourth industrial revolution: its human talent and its natural capital. Hence, this alliance will make it possible to specify programs that facilitate the placement of financial resources to promote the development of micro and small companies in the bioeconomy sector, once again confirming our commitment to create favorable conditions for business activity “.

“Costa Rica is committed to changing the trajectory, adding its contribution to promote companies that contribute to flatten the curves of loss of biodiversity and global warming, while reducing social and economic inequalities. This joint effort will lay the basis for the consolidation of a portfolio of projects with a view to closing financing gaps for biodiversity, mobilizing non-reimbursable resources, venture capital funds, debt instruments, and others, which allow the Country to reactivate its economy in a sustainable and inclusive way ”, indicated José Vicente Troya Rodríguez, UNDP Resident Representative when announcing the agreement signed with the SBD.

Within the framework of this agreement, at least two specific programs will be developed for the placement of non-reimbursable funds in the field of the bioeconomy:

· Acceleration program – Bioeconomy: aimed at companies that are in the preparation phase for raising risk capital.

· Incubation program for tourism in indigenous territories: prototyping phase for sustainable tourism ventures proposed by indigenous people and organizations from the Buenos Aires Region of Puntarenas and Pérez Zeledón.

Portfolio results. The identification of projects that are part of the portfolio is part of the Financial Solution of the BIOFIN-UNDP Bio-business Platform and is the result of a collaborative process between MICITT, IDB and UNDP. The mapping of projects will continue throughout 2021 and 2022, so individuals and companies are invited to register their initiative on the web platform.

Original note:PNUD Costa Rica – Costa Rica avanza hacia un desarrollo sostenible basado en la bioeconomía