Non-reimbursable funds for productive transformation to 71 Costa Rican SMEs

• Companies selected will receive up to $ 15,000 in non-reimbursable funds.
• Funds will be provided by the CRUSA Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Development Banking System (SBD).

Both competitions were promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Trade (COMEX) and Costa Rica’s Foreign Trade Promoter (PROCOMER).They also include efforts by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG), and are possible thanks to the funds provided by the CRUSA Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Development Banking System (SBD).71 micro, small and medium enterprises are the winners of the 3rd edition of the Green Growth non-reimbursable fund contest and the 1st edition of the Discover program, through which, with a maximum of up to $ 15,000 of funds granted, it is intended to improve the profile of environmental sustainability and the export capacity of companies, as well as diversify agriculture and fisheries.

After analyzing 75 proposals, the companies that won the Green Growth funds are: Sociedad Cosméticos Monteverde, Agroindustrial Oro Verde, Harinas Orlight, Fundación Educativa San Judas Tadeo, Octámetro, Cooperativa de Caficultores y Servicios Múltiples de Heredia Libertad, Precisión Azvi, Grupo Agroindustrial Alpízar González, Corporación Alimenticia Chago, Fusion Crops, Comercializadora Bebidas del Trópico, Fruta Sana, Asociación de Mujeres Verdes, Río Tapezco, ICICOR Costa Rica, Productos Ujarrás, Sucato Tradings Costa Rica, Frutylac del Sur, Lecanto M y S, Industrias Centroamericanas Romero, Nutriquim, Costa Rica’s Craft Brewing Co., Exportadora Murillo, Abonos Vivos, Tropifoods E I A E, Prefabricados Sáenz, Green Supply División Aguas, Frutas Richard, Salsas Primitivas, Asociación de Productores de Dátil Asentamiento Camuro, Blue Zone Guanacaste, Fruta Dulce de Costa Rica, Pura Vida Melons, Amanita Artizan Food, A&R Food Solutions, De la Tierra Productos Naturales, Agriquimsa, Sibaeli, AgroVitro, SOLTIG, Ecoco Productos Naturales, Inversiones Agrícolas FROMAK, Biotech CR GRM, Comercializadora GuanaFruit, Recipet de Occidente, Innografic de Costa Rica RG, Bioware Costa Rica, Precisión Meteoro, Cooperativa Agrícola Regional de Productores de Caña de India and Quinagro Químicos para la Industria y la Agricultura.

Similarly, Discover also evaluated 44 proposals to grant funds to: Ecosiembra Agroindustrial, Sembrarte, Finca H&B, Ecoagrícola Gaitán del Caribe, GRAFOCUR, Chocolatería Estukurú, ElixirTropical, Fábrica Artesanal de Chocolate Fusión, Finca Roberth, Inversiones Sancho Alfaro, FRUTAHAYA, Beneficiadora de Occidente, Mariposario Vida de Colores, Organika, Flores y follajes del Caribe, El Tigre Orgánico, Hydronatural, Mauricio Solano Mora, Roger Chacón Leitón, Erick Monge Jiménez and GA&AL Fresh and Vegetables.

The proposals presented to both competitions were subject to a technical analysis to assess their feasibility and impact on productivity. After that, a jury made up of high-level officials determined the winners.

The Minister of Foreign Trade and President of the Board of Directors of PROCOMER, Dyalá Jiménez Figueres, congratulated the winning SMEs of both competitions and encouraged them to continue developing this type of efforts that take the country to another level in matters of sustainability and competitiveness.

“The foreign trade sector and the Costa Rican economy are strengthened when companies seek competitive advantages or added value in sustainability and productive transformation. We are confident that these funds will result in innovation, social development and economic progress for the entire country,” added the Minister of COMEX.

Pedro Beirute Prada, General Manager of PROCOMER, went on to say, “these funds will allow Costa Rican companies, which already have a working trajectory with PROCOMER, boost the development of their businesses and add value to their proposals to be more competitive in international markets. We are pleased to see that there is a clear interest in business development with purpose, which means that PROCOMER’s strategy has permeated our companies and we can, all together, represent the country under the same values and principles.”

For Flora Montealegre, Executive Delegate of the CRUSA Foundation, “the selection of 50 more companies within the Green Growth Program is a source of great satisfaction. This program promotes the consolidation of a productive conversion platform for Costa Rican SMEs. With the grant of seed capital, we promote Costa Rica’s competitiveness through environmentally and socially responsible production, facilitating changes in the production of existing companies and incubating new businesses.”

For more information about the winning projects or new calls, businesses may refer to  www.crecimientoverdecr.com or  www.descubre.cr