IDB Lab, the innovation laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank, convened the BlueTech for Waste Challenge, an initiative to find innovative solutions that contribute to the sustainable management of chemicals and hazardous waste in twelve countries in the Caribbean. This call is made in collaboration with the Global Environment Facility (GEF), through its Global ISLANDS program, in order to protect human health and the environment and address the climate vulnerabilities of the region.
The call is aimed at startups with ready to implement models, small and medium-sized companies, NGOs, corporations, and other organizations in the private sector that offer innovative solutions to face the challenge posted by waste from lubricants, tires, electrical items and electronics, used and end-of-life vehicles, as well as industrial, organic and municipal, medical, pesticide, and plastic waste that may contain hazardous substances. Such solutions must be scalable, sustainable, and promote the economic and social inclusion of poor and vulnerable populations.
Initiatives from any of the twelve countries in which the projects will be implemented can apply to this call: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago. Organizations from any of the other 48 member countries of the IDB may also participate if they do so jointly with an organization registered and located in one of the twelve countries indicated.
The selected proposals will be able to receive financing to implement their projects, which will be provided by the IDB/IDB Lab and the GEF (with the exception of Haiti and Jamaica, which will receive support from the IDB/IDB Lab). In addition, the selected organizations will be included in the IDB Lab network of global innovators for the exchange of knowledge, experiences, best practices, and the creation of contacts in events organized by the IDB Group and its partners.
Featured Dates:
• Presentation of Proposals: April 19 to May 31, 2022
• Call for Proposals Closes: May 31, 2022 (12 am EDT)
• Announcement of Selected Proposals: July – August 2022
For more information about this initiative, please visit: https://convocatorias.iadb.org/en/bid-lab/bluetech-for-waste.
About IDB Lab
IDB Lab is the innovation laboratory of the IDB Group, the leading source of development finance and know-how for improving lives in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The purpose of IDB Lab is to drive innovation for inclusion in the region, by mobilizing financing, knowledge, and connections to test early-stage solutions with the potential to transform the lives of vulnerable populations affected by economic, social, and/or environmental factors. Since 1993 IDB Lab has approved more than US$ 2 billion in projects deployed across 26 LAC countries. www.idblab.org
About GEF
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established on the eve of the Rio Earth Summit to address our planet’s most pressing environmental problems. Since then, it has provided more than $21.7 billion in grants and mobilized an additional $119 billion in co-financing for more than 5,000 projects and programs. The GEF is the largest multilateral trust fund focused on enabling developing countries to invest in nature and supports the implementation of the main international conventions on the environment, in particular on biological diversity, climate change, chemicals, and desertification. It brings together 184 member governments, as well as civil society, international organizations, and private sector partners. Through its five-year Global ISLANDS program, it supports Small Island Developing States around the world to secure and sustainably manage hazardous chemicals and waste. www.thegef.org
Manzano Guillen, Maria De Gador
