IDB Lab, the innovation laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank, convenes BlueTech for Waste, an initiative to find innovative solutions that contribute to the sustainable management of chemical substances and hazardous waste in ten Caribbean countries. In collaboration with the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through its Global ISLANDS program, it seeks to protect human health and the environment and address the region's climate vulnerabilities.
Also in partnership with GEF, IDB Lab launched the BlueTech for Waste challenge in 2022, with which, in October of that year, six proposals were selected for project design. Following the successful completion of the challenge, IDB Lab and GEF are now opening three rounds of proposal submissions to find new solutions in an initiative that will include new financing to test innovations and technological solutions in the initial phase.
IDB Lab seeks startups, small and medium-sized businesses, NGOs, corporations and other private sector organizations that offer innovative solutions to address the challenge posed by waste lubricants, tires, electrical and electronic items, used and end-of-life vehicles, as well as industrial, organic and municipal waste, medical, pesticides and plastics that may contain dangerous substances. Solutions must be scalable, sustainable and promote poor and vulnerable populations' economic and social inclusion.
The projects resulting from this application process will be implemented in the following countries: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Initiatives from any of these ten countries can be submitted, as well as organizations from any of the other 48 IDB member countries if they do so jointly with an organization registered and located in one of the ten countries indicated.
The selected proposals will be able to receive financing to execute their projects, which will be provided by IDB Lab and the GEF. Additionally, selected organizations will be included in the IDB Lab network of global innovators to exchange knowledge, experiences, best practices, and networking at events organized by the IDB Group and its partners.
Proposals will be considered on a first-come, first-serve basis and rounds may be subject to change and/or early termination.
Deadlines for submitting proposals:
- From November 1 to December 31, 2023
- From March 1 to April 30, 2024
- From June 1 to July 31, 2024
For more information about this initiative, visit: https://openidb.brightidea.com/BlueTechforWaste.
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
