San José, 16 May 2025 (IICA). The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) inaugurated its Agrobiobusiness and Investment Center, a new initiative designed to stimulate the creation and development of business ventures linked to agriculture and the bioeconomy, coordinating efforts to foster innovation, strengthen capacities, and provide strategic support to entrepreneurs in the sector.
The initiative was launched at IICA Headquarters in San José, Costa Rica, during the 2025 International Conference of the Latin American Bioeconomy Network, which brought together 170 global bioeconomy leaders to analyze key trends with a view to harnessing them to drive more competitive, sustainable, resilient, and inclusive development.
Under three main programs, the Center will provide services to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership, build technical and business capabilities, and provide comprehensive support across the various stages involved in the maturation of business ventures, with the goal of contributing to a more dynamic, inclusive, and job-creating bioeconomy.
Additionally, as a cross-cutting component, it will provide a physical space for work, collaboration, training, and networking for bioentrepreneurs, startups, support institutions, and strategic partners in the agrifood and bioeconomic ecosystem.
The Center is targeted at students, researchers, and entrepreneurs interested in agriculture, the bioeconomy, and sustainable development, and encompasses everything from traditional to dynamic businesses and science and technology-based companies.
The services that the Center will provide will vary according to the needs of each program, but include talks, practical workshops, materials and guides, hackathons, bootcamps (intensive practical educational programs), specialized technical advice, investment advice, sessions with investors and clients, and connections with partners.
“We are not just inaugurating a physical space, we are embarking on a new stage in our commitment to more innovative, inclusive, and sustainable agriculture. The Center was born out of a deep conviction: that science, technology, knowledge, and cooperation can and should be at the service of those who are building transformative solutions,” said IICA Director General Manuel Otero during the inauguration ceremony.
“Our goal is for the Center to be an open platform for creating, connecting, prototyping, and scaling innovations. It is to be a meeting point for people who believe that the bioeconomy and entrepreneurship can generate real opportunities to transform our agriculture, our rural economies, and the lives of millions of people in the Americas,” Otero added.
During the opening ceremony, the head of the inter-American agricultural agency was accompanied by Lloyd Day, Deputy Director General of IICA; María Marta Padilla, a Costa Rican congresswoman; and Yamileth Quesada, the Mayor of the canton of Vázquez de Coronado (where the Institute’s Headquarters are located), who served as witnesses of honor.
Competition for impactful biobusinesses
As part of the Center’s launch and initial activities, IICA, in conjunction with the Regional Fund for Agricultural Technology (FONTAGRO) and partners from the Latin American Bioeconomy Network, announced a competition for impactful agrobiobusinesses in Latin America (LatAm), which will be launched in two weeks.
Its objective is to strengthen the LatAm biobusiness ecosystem by identifying and mapping the 200 biobusinesses with the greatest socioeconomic and environmental impact in the region, in order to then incubate, accelerate, and prepare the 30 most promising ones for the market.
The support will be provided free of charge, and the competition is open to entries from individuals and corporations, public institutions, NGOs, academia, research centers, and bio-enterprise development organizations.
The projects should be focused on the development of products or services based on the sustainable use of biodiversity and biomass through science, technology, and innovation in priority sectors of the bioeconomy, such as biomaterials, bioproducts, and bioenergy; new bioproducts for food, cosmetics, health, and wellness; sustainable bioinputs and agrifood technologies; bioservices; and nature-based solutions.
The top six agrobiobusinesses will be awarded a voucher worth up to USD 15,000 to finance their incubation and acceleration process, an invitation to the awards ceremony (in November), and a bootcamp activity at the Center. They will also participate, along with the other 24 outstanding startups, in a specialized incubation and acceleration program starting in February 2026.
The best 200 proposals will also be included in the first catalog of impactful agribusinesses in Latin America, which the Center will disseminate online and at the regional level. All applicants will have access to information, contacts, and support resources from the Latin American Bioeconomy Network and its partners.
“At FONTAGRO, when we look at the bioeconomy, we see that it comprises a wide variety of activities, products, and biological processes, including those that have the greatest potential and impact for the future of agriculture and agrifood systems in Latin America and the Caribbean. This competition and the subsequent incubation and acceleration program constitute a powerful tool for channeling science, technology, and innovation toward ventures that generate wealth, value added, employment, and sustainability in our territories,” concluded Nicolás Bronzovich, head of INTA Argentina and President of FONTAGRO.
More information:
Hugo Chavarría, Manager of IICA’s Innovation and Bioeconomy Program and Executive Secretary of the Latin American Bioeconomy Network.
hugo.chavarria@iica.int
