‘Sociobioeconomia na Amazônia’ Project Provides R$ 15 Million in Credit
December, 2024 – The “Sociobioeconomia na Amazônia” Project aims to develop community businesses with socio environmental impact in the Amazon by offering solutions for management improvement and adding value to products and services. It also supports the activation of two regional ecosystems for community businesses. The initiative has already achieved significant results, with R$ 15 million provided in credit and over 60 enterprises impacted during this new partnership phase.
According to Tássia Ribeiro, Project Manager at Partnership Platform for the Amazon (PPA), “the project reaffirms the Platform's commitment to strengthening community businesses in the Amazon by promoting local leadership and territorial development. One of the most significant advancements is the adoption of methodologies that expand opportunities for women, highlighting their role in managing enterprises and strengthening production chains. By fostering this leadership, the project drives social and economic transformation, strengthening communities.”
This alliance, which began in 2020 between Conexsus and PPA, is essential for developing and implementing strategic actions to strengthen community businesses in the Amazon, emphasizing their values and the importance of sociobioeconomy. Since then, various methodologies have been developed and tested as part of the partnership. In 2023, during the project's first phase, the “Amazon in Connections Initiative” applied an ecosystem approach at a regional level within Amazonian territories, generating a wealth of experiences and lessons shared in a publication (read in Portuguese).
Today, the project contributes to the continuity of the Advisory Program’s work, focusing on developing new approaches, including participatory training methodologies that enhance the technical capacities of community business managers in the Amazon. Additionally, it supports the launch of field activities for the Amazon Regional Ecosystems Activation Program, which implements plans to activate and strengthen the community business ecosystem by fostering partnerships, collective strategic solutions, and innovation to develop associations and cooperatives in the territories.
Among the current challenges to be addressed by 2025 are boosting community businesses' roles in income generation and access to financial resources. This includes technical support for improving business management and credit access and monitoring. Currently, 43 active enterprises are involved, located in various Amazon territories across five states: Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Amapá, and Mato Grosso.
“The project enables Conexsus to expand its work, promoting a new approach to strengthening community organizations in the Amazon, centered on technical management support and guided credit access, aiming at organizational development and income growth for these communities. It also implements network-based solutions that contribute to activating the ecosystems where these enterprises operate,” explains Adriano Santos, Coordinator of the Community Business Advisory Program at Conexsus.
The project aims to develop, implement, and monitor network-based solutions. Loyanne Feitosa, Coordinator of Community Business Ecosystems at Conexsus, emphasizes the importance of collective solutions: “The Sociobioeconomia na Amazônia Project provides the opportunity to execute innovative methodologies by implementing network solutions to activate and strengthen the community business ecosystem, fostering collaboration among local actors, innovation, and development of associations and cooperatives."
Success Stories – Ronaldo Duarte, a representative of the National Council of Extractive Populations (CNS), highlights the fundamental role of the partnerships created by the project. “We greatly value these partnerships, and the time we spent participating in Conexsus activities in Belém was very important. There were several learning opportunities where I grew significantly and left with a much broader perspective to bring back to the Amazon, to Marajó, and to Portel. Today, the work must be collective; collectivity is the path to a stronger Marajó with a better quality of life.”
Maria Andréia, from Manejaí, another institution impacted by the project, talks about how partnerships help map new opportunities for community businesses: “Through Conexsus and other partners, businesses began to open new paths. Working with forest resources, earning a livelihood from it, and ensuring its preservation is what we do. Today we already have market access, participate in the National School Feeding Program and the Food Acquisition Program, and have access to public policies. Gradually, with our partners, we are advancing and making progress.”
