News

The Government of Colombia, GGGI and the UK PACT boost bioeconomy through Open Innovation Challenges

  • During the Event “Cocreating a Zero Hunger Future” iNNpulsa Colombia y Renata Colombia, the Open Innovation Challenges for Bioeconomy focused on biofertilizers where launched. Each solution selected to address the challenges will receive a total of 22.000 USD in technical assistance.
  • Due to external political and economic factors, in the past recent months fertilizers prices have risen. Some causes associated to this increase are higher prices of energy, high and volatile prices of transport as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic (FAO, 2022), the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the triggered economic sanctions.

Bogotá, July, 2022. With the objective to strengthen the bioeconomy sector in Colombia through the development of biofertilizers, GGGI, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and Innpulsa Colombia, financed by the UK PACT Program in Colombia, launched three innovation challenges that seek innovative solutions for the development of biofertilizers in Colombia that contribute to the meet the demand and nutritional need of the national agricultural sector.  

This initiative is part of the framework of cooperation with the UK PACT that aims to accelerate new industries on bioeconomy and improve the skills and capacity for the promotion of green jobs with a motivation to tackle climate change. For this strategy, GGGI is working in alliance with Minciencias, Minagricultura e iNNpulsa Colombia to address the challenges related to the development of biofertilizers at the national level, which include different links in the value chain and are associated with the development and penetration of the biofertilizer market:

Biofertilizers in R&D stage
Potentialize exit to the market of Biofertilizers
Social appropriation of Biofertilizers by rural communities

It is expected to have solvers at the national level to promote the entry of biofertilizers into the food production matrix in Colombia, in such a way that better and healthier food can be produced. Stakeholders from the National Science, Technology and Innovation System – SNCTeI, companies, startups, spin-offs and SMEs may participate.

The benefits for the selected proposals include USD 22,000 in technical assistance contracted by GGGI, and training and support on the Instrument of Tax Benefits in CTI by Minciencias for challenges 1 and 2.

The call will be open until August 1, 2022, learn all the details at the following link: https://megainn.vtsas.co.