Private Sector Engagement

USAID has a long history of tackling the immense challenge of Amazon biodiversity conservation in Brazil, through broad partnerships with the nation’s Government, civil society and people. Departing from a traditional donor’s role, USAID Brazil transitioned from development assistance to a “Strategic Partnership Mission” in 2014 and has been catalyzing transformative partnerships ever since.

USAID/Brazil has a long history of working with the private sector that intensified in 2007 with the Mais Unidos Platform of Partners, when it brought together American companies with common goal to invest in education by preparing the Brazilian youth to the global economy. 

Using this expertise, USAID/Brazil developed the Partnership Platform for the Amazon (PPA) to catalyze an Amazon economy that fosters empowered, sustainable communities and conserves biodiversity, forests and natural resources. The PPA mission is to partner with private sector companies to develop and identify innovative solutions for sustainable development and biodiversity conservation of the Amazon. For more information about the PPA please visit: www.ppa.org.br  Private sector companies that are committed to the cause of conserving the Amazon biodiversity while promoting its sustainable development are welcomed to be members of the PPA.

Along with the development of Platform of Partners that engages several private sector companies at once, USAID/Brazil has also developed bilateral partnerships such as with Mineracao Rio do Norte (MRN) under the Sustainable Territories Program and with Google under the Program New Technologies. To learn more about our engagement with the Private Sector in this folder.


Althelia Biodiversity Fund  (ABF) Brazil

As part of USAID’s Private Sector Engagement Policy, USAID is supporting private-sector-led conservation efforts in the Brazilian Amazon and promoting blended-finance models for overcoming inherent challenges and reducing inherent risks for funds such as these. USAID is furthering new models of development that can be both scaled and replicated in the future, throughout the Amazon, other regions in Brazil, and the rest of the Western Hemisphere.

The Brazil-based fund was formally launched in November 2019 by Althelia Funds, the private sector fund manager. For more details contact Info for Althelia Fund Manager, Nick Oakes, (nick.oakes@althelia.com). The launch was held jointly with the launch of the Para expansion of the Partnership Platform for the Amazon.

The biodiversity fund was co-designed by Althelia Funds, USAID and other Brazilian strategic partners. It is a private-sector-led impact investment fund, to be capitalized largely with private capital. USAID has helped convene the key partners involved, provided expertise and recommendations on biodiversity and community well-being impact measurement, and risk mitigation instruments to support private capital raising.

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