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IDB Lab signs agreements to promote four innovation projects in Latin America

IDB Lab signs agreements to promote four innovation projects in Latin America

IDB Lab, the innovation and risk capital laboratory of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), signed this Friday in Buenos Aires four agreements to promote innovation projects in Latin America.

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The agreements, signed by Magdalena Coronel Arnoletti, head of the Investment Unit at IDB Lab, and César Buenadicha Sánchez, head of the Discovery Unit at IDB Lab, They aim to promote agrobiotechnology and agroindustry projects, waste reduction and human resources.

One of the projects seeks to support the agrobiotechnology entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Argentine province of Santa Fe (center), which involves facilitating access to financing for ‘startups’ (emerging companies) in that sector.

With a total cost of 1.8 million dollars, of which IDB Lab will contribute 50% through non-refundable technical cooperation, the project will be executed by the Stock Exchange of the city of Rosario (Santa Fe).

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Another agreement is to financially support Nat4Bio, an Argentine venture that aims to prolong the shelf life of fresh fruit by developing totally edible natural coatings, allowing for less use. harmful chemicals and reduce plastic waste in the environment.

IDB Lab’s investment of $830,000
will cover 46% of the total cost of the project and will allow Nat4Bio to make strategic investments to bring its prototypes to a commercial stage, reach the break-even point and be able to raise its first round of financing.

Another agreement aims to optimize the supply chain of agricultural raw materials in Latin America through the consolidation of ZoomAgri, an Argentine platform that determines the quality and varieties of these raw materials with artificial intelligence.

In this case, IDB Lab will provide up to 2 million dollars in a loan from resources from the Social Entrepreneurship Program (PES) to support ZoomAgri to expand its solution in Argentina.

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The other agreement signed this Friday seeks to support the expansion and consolidation of RankMi, an integrated human resources technological solution Chilean initiative aimed at improving the management of human capital in companies.

RankMi, which aims to reach 3,000 client companies and be present in five Latin American countries by 2027, will extend a series A investment round, in which IDB Lab will participate with 3 million dollars.

The agreements were signed during the third edition of the IDB Lab Forum, event organized in Buenos Aires by IDB Lab which seeks to promote entrepreneurial initiatives to generate more inclusion, climate action and productivity in Latin America and the Caribbean.

EFE

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