Accelerating the sustainable management of chemicals and waste with innovative technologies in the Caribbean
Open until May 31st, 2022
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UPDATE (October 27, 2022): WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THE RESULTS OF THE BLUE TECH FOR WASTE CHALLENGE.
Congratulations to the selected applicants!
Barbados – “Lithium Battery Reuse and Servicing Facility"
Applicant: Aceleron Limited
Dominican Republic - "Green Solvent for the Implementation of the Circular Economy Model in Plastic Packaging"
Applicants: Nueva Vida para los Residuos (NUVI) and Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD)
Haiti - "Fuego del Sol Haiti Ultra-efficient Biomass Combustion"
Applicant: Fuego del Sol Haiti S.A.
Jamaica - "W2C: Waste to Cement"
Applicant: Caribbean Cement Company Limited
Trinidad and Tobago - "End-of-Life Tire Recycling Facility"
Applicant: Ecoimpact Co. Limited
Trinidad and Tobago - "Close the Loop Caribbean"
Applicants: Hello Green Products Limited and IAMovement
See press release for more information.
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), through its innovation laboratory, IDB Lab, and in partnership with the Global Environment Facility (GEF)1 seeks to support innovative solutions that contribute to the sound management of hazardous Chemicals and Waste (C&W) to protect human health and the environment, and address climate vulnerability in the Caribbean region.
The proposed solutions must:
- Be innovative in nature and present a business model that has not been implemented before in the country or that adds an innovation component to an existing model.
- Focus on reducing environmental pollution and climate vulnerability, thus, contributing to at least one of the following indicators:
- reduction, disposal/destruction, phase out, elimination and avoidance of chemicals of global concern and their waste in the environment and in processes, materials and products (metric tons of toxic chemicals reduced)
- reduction, avoidance of emissions of Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) to air from point and non-point sources
- reduction of marine litter.
- Promote the social and economic inclusion of poor and vulnerable population; and
- Contemplate a path for scalability or replication, as well as financial sustainability.
TARGET COUNTRIES
Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominican Republic, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.
PRIORITY WASTE STREAMS
- used lubricating oils
- used and end-of-life tires
- used and end-of-life vehicles
- used and end-of-life electronic and electrical equipment (E-waste)
- plastics
- manufacturing/industrial waste
- organic and municipal solid waste
- medical waste
- hazardous pesticides
AWARDS
Financing: IDB Lab may consider the Applicants whose proposals are selected to receive financing to implement the proposed business model in one of the 12 target countries.
IDB Lab Innovators Network: Selected applicants will be included among IDB Lab's network of global innovators and may have opportunities to participate in networking events to showcase their solutions.
Who can present applications?
- Applicants from any of the 48 members countries of the IDB Group can participate, including startups with “ready-to-implement” solutions, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), corporations, NGOs, and others with demonstrated expertise in managing the at least one of the priority waste streams.
- If your organization is legally registered in one of these 12 target countries where the project will be implemented, you can apply to the Challenge.
- If your organization is legally registered in one of the 48 IDB member countries, other than one of the 12 target countries where the project will be implemented, you may apply only in partnership with an organization registered and located in one of the 12 target countries where the project will be implemented.
TIMELINE*
*Dates are approximate and subject to changes
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Proposal Submission
April 19 – May 31, 2022 -
Final Submission Deadline
May 31, 2022 (Midnight Eastern Time, USA) -
Review of Applications
June - September 2022 -
Expected Announcement of Selected Proposals
October 2022
1. Complete online application:
- Submit application through the online platform on or before May 31, 2022 (midnight, Eastern Time, USA).
- Applications will be selected if they fully comply with the evaluation criteria and requirements describe in the Guidelines.
2. Upload documents:
- Written evidence of counterpart resources
- Written proof of legal constitution/incorporation and bylaws
- Copies of Applicant´s latest annual financial statements prepared by an external auditing firm (or follow required practice in Applicant’s country).
Applications will be evaluated according to the criteria indicated below. Please read the guidelines for detailed information:
- Level of innovation of the business model/Use of disruptive technologies or processes (15%)
- Degree of social and economic impact, targeting excluded groups and communities or low-income populations (20%)
- Promotion of gender equity (5%)
- Scalability or replication potential (15%)
- Financial sustainability and/or repayment capacity for loan applicants (15%)
- Technical capacity of Applicant and strategic partners (15%)
- Viability of execution and risk management (15%)
Phase I
After completing the application on the online platform, an IDB Group technical team will review, analyze, and pre-select the applications.
Phase II
Due diligence visits or interviews will be conducted to analyze the viability of the model of the pre-selected applications. Subject to the outcome, pre-selected applications will proceed to Phase III.
Phase III
IDB Lab will select applications according to the evaluation criteria describe in detail in the Guidelines. Selected applications will be announced as per timeline established. Once the best way to implement the model has been assessed, IDB Lab will provide support to the selected Applicant(s) to initiate the design of the model (which includes developing a project plan and other documents necessary to request official internal IDB Lab approval). This process may last up to six months, depending on the maturity of the model and the implementing capacity of the selected Applicants.
*Note that final approval is subject to internal IDB/IDB Lab procedures with the understanding that for a project to be selected to receive financing, it must have been approved by all those directly involved in IDB/IDB Lab’s approval process. Likewise, a legal agreement must be signed which sets forth how the financing and the counterpart resources will be used to implement the model.
Challenge Led by:
IDB Lab is the innovation laboratory of the IDB Group, the leading source of development finance and expertise for improving lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. The purpose of IDB Lab is to drive innovation for inclusion in the region, mobilizing financing, knowledge, and connections to test early stage private sector solutions with the potential to transform the lives of vulnerable populations affected by economic, social, and environmental conditions. Since 1993, IDB Lab has approved more than US$ 2 billion in projects deployed across 26 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Inter-American Development Bank is devoted to improving lives. Established in 1959, the IDB is a leading source of long-term financing for economic, social and institutional development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The IDB also conducts cutting-edge research and provides policy advice, technical assistance and training to public and private sector clients throughout the region.
In collaboration with:
The Global Environment Facility was established on the eve of the Rio Earth Summit to tackle 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 major international environmental conventions including on biodiversity, climate change, chemicals, and desertification. It brings together 184 member governments in addition to civil society, international organizations, and private sector partners. Through its Small Grants Programme, the GEF has provided support to more than 26,000 civil society and community initiatives in 135 countries.
The "Implementing Sustainable Low and Non-chemical Development in Small Island Developing States" (ISLANDS), funded by the Global Environment Facility, is a five-year programme that supports Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) around the globe to safely and sustainably manage chemical and hazardous waste.