eco.business Fund for SME Development in Latin America
Technical Assistance
The eco.business Fund is a joint initiative of investors intent on supporting the promotion of business and consumption practices that contribute to biodiversity conservation, the sustainable use of natural resources, climate change mitigation and adaptation to its impact. In providing financing to the Fund’s target group for investing in activities that conserve nature and foster biodiversity, the eco.business Fund seeks investments that yield both financial and environmental returns. The financing can be provided directly or through local financial institutions. In addition, final beneficiaries and local lending institutions can count on high impact technical assistance provided by the eco.business Development Facility. The project is led by KfW and managed by Finance in Motion.
- 271,000 hectares of farmland under sustainable management
- 117,000 hectares of farmland under soil conservation practices supported
- 4,059 loans granted by the fund's allied institutions with the resources provided by the fund
- USD 489 million in accumulated loans to partner institutions
- 480 hectares of soil erosion avoided
- 33,000 liters of herbicides avoided
- 169,000 m³ of liquid waste treated or recycled
- 8.3 million tons of CO2 stored by agroforestry activities
- 4.3 million m³ of water saved
- 380,000 direct jobs supported
LACIF through the Eco Business Fund finances green activities that make a positive impact on the environment
The fund aims to promote business and consumption practices that contribute to biodiversity conservation, the sustainable use of natural resources, and to mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts. The Fund currently operates in Latin America and the Caribbean, and sub-Saharan Africa...
Eco.business Fund - Impact report 2019
In operation for six years now, the eco.business Fund continues to work towards making a positive impact on the environment for both people and the planet. Positive impact management is guided by a Theory of Change, which provides a detailed mapping of how the eco.business Fund’s activities lead to its final results. By demonstrating a successful track record where tangible impact can be realized, the fund paves the way for future expansion of green practices.
Eco.business Fund - Impact report 2018
This report sets out the progress made since the fund's inception and the approach with which it seeks to make a real difference for the planet. The eco.business Fund seeks to generate long-term impact by providing financing and technical assistance that promote business and consumer practices aimed at the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of natural resources. Through its activities, the fund encourages greater integration between economic development and sustainable practices. In addition to financial returns, the fund is generating impacts that reach new dimensions. With more than 3,000 end borrowers who sustainably carry out agricultural and food production activities, the fund supports the sustainable management of more than 140,000 hectares of agricultural land, which not only helps protect fragile and highly biodiverse ecosystems, but also it also promotes more efficient use of natural resources. In this way, both the causes and the effects of climate change are addressed, through the financing of agroforestry systems or technologies to save water.
eco.business Fund: Impact of key actions
The fund takes a comprehensive approach to conservation finance that involves not only improving the sustainability of individual practices, but also strengthening the systems that surround and enable these practices to generate deep, long-term impact, through activities such as:
- Implementation of environmental and social management systems (ESMS)
- Precision agriculture: using technology in sustainable agriculture and cattle farming
- expanding the eco.business fund’s elegibility criteria
- Supporting end-borrowers
- The eco.business Sustainability Academy
- Regional activities
