Over 80 start-ups are competing for PPA investment

This coming November the Amazon's First Impact Investment and Sustainable Business Forum will hold a “Shark Tank” style competition among 81 start-ups looking for investment from the Partnership Platform for the Amazon (PPA). Launched in December 2017, the PPA has brought together nearly one hundred large, medium and small private companies that operate in the region, resulting in an active network which is designed to foster and share best practices, and seeks to stimulate and lead investment in sustainable development and biodiversity conservation of Brazil’s Amazon region.

The majority of the 83 entrepreneurs who have sent in proposals for PPA funding list socio-environmental products and services as their main activity, whilst others are focused on sustainable agriculture or livestock and there are also businesses related to forest management and sustainable production of Amazon biodiversity. Green technology is the number one area of impact among the 83 start-ups looking to obtain support from the PPA. But there are also social finance and citizenship-related projects, as well as new businesses linked to combating trafficking in animals and illegal logging, climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The four winners of the Shark Tank dispute will receive up to US$150,000 in funding. And 10 others will be chosen to join a small business acceleration program with awards ranging from approximately US$1,250 up to US$4,000.

Mariano Cenamo, the Executive Coordinator of the PPA and senior researcher of Idesam, was impressed by the quality and the variety of the applicants: “A number of different sectors applied, from producers in rural areas to start-ups connected to training and tech services.” The business to business (B2B) profile applies to 47% of the total while at least 63% are focused on sustainable production and consumption. Roughly 39% of the initiatives have the potential to boost economic growth and improve working conditions.