The application period runs from July 24 to August 14.

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), in the framework of its recently announced regional program Amazonia Forever, launches the call for proposals to participate in the Amazonia BioStartups Program (Spanish only). This initiative seeks to support scientific and technological ventures working to use and transform the Amazon’s renewable biological resources in a sustainable way.

The Amazonia BioStartups Program is part of the IDB's Natural Capital Lab and is run by the IDB's Competitiveness, Technology and Innovation Division. The program is funded by the Government of France, which aims to protect biodiversity in the Amazon region and enhance its value. The beneficiary countries of this call are Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.

The program will award up to $80,000 in funding to each selected startup. These resources may be allocated to different areas like human resources, equipment, supplies, technological services, and protecting intellectual property.

Startups can submit projects related to new foods, human and animal health, personal care, new biomaterials, energy, biomining, bioremediation, agriculture, new molecular tools, and fermentation processes. The program will also consider proposals with applications of new microorganisms or microbial consortia that span several of these fields for industrial processes.

Academic technology transfer projects, tech startups, and young companies developing products or services that fall within the program’s scope are eligibles to apply. Applicants are required to show evidence of a specific level of technological maturity for each type of project.

The application period runs from July 24 to August 14. Projects that are selected will begin a technical due diligence dialogue on September 20.

During the competitive selection process, an independent panel of experts and venture capital investors will evaluate the relevance, innovation, potential impact and sustainability of each eligible proposal. Winning projects will be financed by the IDB.

Those interested in participating need to complete the application form by visiting www.iadb.org/ConvocatoriasAmazonia. For more information on the Amazonia BioStartups Program, a kick-off workshop will be held on July 24 at 10:00 a.m. ET. Interested parties can register at the link to Zoom. For additional inquiries please email biostartups@iadb.org.