eco.business Fund has lent USD 10 million to Banco Davivienda Costa Rica to support companies that follow best practices in sectors such as agriculture or fisheries. These companies are certified by entities such as FairTrade International or Rainforest Alliance.
The recently launched eco.business Fund promotes the conservation of biodiversity in Latin America and the Caribbean through the provision of dedicated finance. With its interest in establishing a portfolio of agricultural clients that are leaders in the area of environmental sustainability, Banco Davivienda Costa Rica is an important anchor institution for the eco.business Fund and key to its mission in the Costa Rican market. Along with dedicated financing, the eco.business Fund will also provide assistance in the form of in-house technical workshop at Banco Davivienda to promote the topic of biodiversity certification for companies and businesses.
“We are delighted to team up with Banco Davivienda Costa Rica, a dynamic and forward-looking institution focused on selecting responsible agricultural clients and on the sustainable use of natural resources”
— Dr. Jens Mackensen, Chairperson of the Board of directors at the eco.business Fund.
“We are also excited about Costa Rica as the first active country of the eco.business Fund. Local support for our mission is strong and so is awareness of the importance of environmental protection”.
— Dr. Jens Mackensen, Chairperson of the Board of directors at the eco.business Fund.
“At Banco Davivienda we strongly support the efforts of companies to achieve sustainability and we are proud to contribute to their growth as part of an economic strategy for the country"
— Arturo Giacomin, CEO of Davivienda Costa Rica.
About the eco.business Fund
The eco.business Fund is spearheading the preservation and promotion of biodiversity through private enterprises. 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 eco.business Fund provides financing mainly through local financial institutions for onlending to eligible final borrowers. Eligible final borrowers include those holding an eligible certification or those making improvements that are in line with conservation and biodiversity goals. The Fund supports sustainable operations in the sectors of agriculture, fishery, forestry and eco-tourism.
The eco.business Fund leverages contributions from donors, multilateral organizations and development finance institutions with funding from private investors to maximize outreach and impact. Seed capital has been provided by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), with KfW being the project leader. Finance in Motion is also an investor.
Hand-in-hand with the eco.business Fund goes the eco.business Development Facility, which can provide high impact technical assistance at the sector level, to local lending institutions and final borrowers.
About Banco Davivienda Costa Rica
Banco Davivienda Costa Rica is a financial institution with over 40 years of experience in both retail banking and corporate banking. It belongs to Bolivar Group, a conglomerate of private, solid and profitable companies active in various sectors that, for more than 70 years, has accompanied the needs of individuals, families and businesses in the fulfillment of their objectives.
Banco Davivienda’s sustainability strategy is based on the generation of value for stakeholders through actions that allow us to be economically viable, environmentally correct and socially fair.
