Madre SA and Ecocur were the two companies selected through the window of the Moises Bertoni Foundation that applied for the Circular Opportunities Program and will receive technical support during the implementation period by the Foundation. Both had the opportunity to present their projects to Luis Fernández Zang, investment officer of the innovation laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB Lab), the Moisés Bertoni Foundation and the Kolibri consulting firm.
The POC is a competitive fund program, created within the framework of the MiPYME COMPITE program, which seeks to support mipymes and rural associations interested in developing circular businesses. It is an initiative that has the support of the European Union and the IDB Lab, which together with allied organizations join together to promote the transition towards the circular economy and the competitiveness of the country’s MSMEs.
Madre SA is the first factory of biodegradable bags of different types and sizes in Paraguay that works with raw materials such as starches and vegetable oils, with the ability to degrade in 90 to 180 days. The company was born with the aim of reducing the amount of plastic and organic waste in landfills and seeks to contribute to the sustainable development of our country.
Likewise, Ecocur is the first and only company in the country to reuse tires to manufacture recycled rubber tiles, manufacturing an environmentally friendly, versatile and functional product that allows extending the useful life of the rubber, which can take up to 6,000 years to degrade.
About the Circular Opportunities Program (POC)
The Circular Opportunities program is an interinstitutional and multisectoral initiative that provides financial support, through competitive funds, for the implementation of production projects that are based on the principles of the circular economy, as a tool that contributes to a more resilient production. and sustainable.
The initiative has the financial support of the European Union (EU) and the Innovation Laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB Lab), articulated respectively by the MiPYME COMPITE program of the EU and the Asunción Circular (AC+) project of the IDB Lab. .
About the Asunción Circular project
The “Circular Asunción” project, AC+, aims to improve the socio-environmental and economic conditions in Barrios de Asunción, through the promotion of the circular economy, promoting innovation through the adoption of circular production and business models at a business level. . It is a cooperation program financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB Lab) and implemented (2020-2023) by the Moisés Bertoni Foundation (FMB).
About IDB Lab:
IDB Lab is the innovation laboratory of the IDB Group, the main source of financing and knowledge for development aimed at improving lives in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). The purpose of IDB Lab is to promote innovation for inclusion in the region, mobilizing financing, knowledge and connections to co-create solutions capable of transforming the lives of vulnerable populations due to economic, social or environmental conditions.
