Business Alliance Will Invest More Than S/300 Million In Sustainable Businesses In The Amazon

Initiative promoted by USAID, the Government of Canada and Conservation International, will invest in business models focused on biodiversity conservation, adaptation and mitigation against Climate Change in the Amazon. 

The platform will benefit more than 10,000 people from the Amazon population and promote businesses led by women, mainly.     

In order to face Climate Change and promote economic activities that are committed to the conservation of our country's biodiversity, the Amazon Business Alliance will invest more than 300 million soles in sustainable businesses, which will directly benefit the Amazonian populations that conserve forests. 

Promoted by USAID, the Government of Canada and Conservation International, the Amazon Business Alliance is a new platform that seeks to join efforts of the public and private sector to promote sustainable investments in the Peruvian Amazon, with the aim of contributing to the achievement of national climate goals and the Sustainable Development Goals.     

For its implementation, an initial fund of 100 million soles is available and it is expected to leverage an additional 200 million soles to be invested in sustainable businesses through two financing mechanisms: grants and accessible loans, with competitive interest rates.

"This platform is a commitment to the Amazon, to its sustainable development, to generate opportunities for economic growth while respecting the environment. We seek to improve the environment of green businesses, so that they grow," explained Luis Espinel, Vice President of Conservation International in Peru. 

WOMEN-LED BUSINESSES

The Alliance proposes an economic development based on the sustainable use of natural resources, based on gender, interculturality and rights approaches, promoting an adequate relationship with the local population, in particular with women and indigenous peoples, to guarantee their effective participation in decision-making and in the construction of relevant and inclusive public policies. 

A pillar of the Alliance is to increase the participation of women in business, strengthening their economic autonomy to achieve a more egalitarian and respectful society. In that sense, the Alliance will promote businesses led by women, and will increase and improve their entrepreneurial capabilities.

THE ALLIANCE IS ALREADY IN THESE REGIONS 

Seeking to recover and restore more than 20,000 hectares of forest and contribute to the sustainable management of another 60,000 hectares, the Amazon Business Alliance promotes initiatives in the regions of Madre de Dios, San Martín, Huánuco and Ucayali, where Inter-institutional Cooperation Agreements were signed with the respective regional governments, which will align public and private investment priorities. In the coming months it will expand its reach to the Amazon, Pasco and Loreto regions. This with the aim of facilitating the articulation and generation of synergies and strengthening technical and innovation capacities.      

In the first group of companies that are part of this alliance, Starbucks, the BHP Foundation, Viridis Terra, Aje, Shanantina, Rainforest Expeditions, among others, stand out.