The Promoter of External Trade of Costa Rica (PROCOMER) and the Costa Rica United States Foundation for Cooperation (CRUSA) have joined forces to launch a new contest to provide financial support for 25 small and medium-sized companies developing green transformation projects.
The contest, called Crecimiento Verde (Green Growth), will identify SMES to to receive donations to improve their energy efficiency, renewable energy use, emission reductions, water use, or integrated waste management.
“For the CRUSA Foundation it is very important to stimulate the economic growth of the country,” said Michelle Coffey, Executive Delegate of the CRUSA Foundation, at the launch of the contest last week. “We believe that it is one of the principal objectives that we should focus on as a country.”
With Crecimiento Verde, CRUSA is working to support and promote resource efficiency as well as productivity, Coffey said in a statement.
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“The objective is to change the forms of how they design products, process products, and pack products to ensure a niche in the market with a higher price and a higher value added,” she added. “That helps us raise the productivity of the country.”
The Minister of Foreign Trade and President of the Board of Directors of PROCOMER, Dyalá Jiménez, added that the program is seeking to strengthen Costa Rica’s already “consolidated image as a green country.”
Costa Rican First Lady Claudia Dobles attended the launch event.
“Our country is positioned internationally as a decarbonization laboratory,” Dobles said. “Therefore, the government’s actions are aimed at promoting processes like this, where productive transformation is intended to improve the environmental sustainability profile of Costa Rican companies.”
PROCOMER and CRUSA will choose at least 25 companies that are developing green projects. They have to be small and medium-sized enterprise of up to 100 employees; qualify for PROCOMER’s exporter diagnosis; and plan a project within one of the following categories: energy efficiency, renewable energies, emission reduction, water use, and integrated waste management.
A PROCOMER technical committee will then examine the companies and the CRUSA Foundation will reward them with funding of up to 80 percent of project costs. A total of up to $4 million will be awarded throughout the whole competition.
Businesses that have already completed the PROCOMER exporter diagnosis have until Sep. 28 to send in their proposals. Businesses new to that process must request an application by Sept. 14.
The winners will be announced on Oct. 12.
For more information, companies can visit the page www.crecimientoverdecr.com or contact PROCOMER through the email crecimientoverde@procomer.com.
