All initiatives of sustainable development or conservation of the biodiversity in the Peruvian Amazon require capital. In the case of biotrade for example, the lack of capital is usually the biggest obstacle when starting a business, and for any project finding financing is always the most important and many times the hardest task. This financial information service of PromAmazonia was designed to help with the search and management of funds. Its purpose is to offer information on finance possibilities and increase communication between the key actors. It also provides useful information for investors interested in investing in the Peruvian Amazon, for example on the current biotrade products, natural resources and productive chains. Special features of the Peruvian Amazon, cultural and biological diversity, possibilities in biotrade, some productive chains, management instruments and finally finance and cooperation sources are presented on the Web site. So far the service is provided in Spanish only, but the full English version is expected to be launched by the end of the year 2007. Also, all users are encouraged to contact our helpdesk (see contact details) for any questions, comments or personalized service in English. The English summary of the Web site’s contents is presented below.

OPTIONS FOR FINANCING

There are various options for finding capital, depending on whether the applicant is an NGO, community, small- or medium sized enterprise or a large successful enterprise focusing on biotrade. For example the Peruvian banks only work with large urban companies and do not provide technical cooperation services.
Some institutions provide funding via competitions. In Peru there are about a dozen of these funds which generally require a strong connection between the producer, investigator and the company to secure long term sustainability, and provide an opportunity for innovative proposals. A competition can be public or private, and support in project management will often be provided to the pre-selected candidates. Funding is generally given to demonstrative projects that can later be repeated in the society in general, for example developing new company models or solving environmental conflicts. Institutions providing these types of funds in Peru are: INCAGRO Innovación y Competitividad para el Agro Peruano, FONDEBOSQUE Fondo de Promoción de Desarrollo Forestal, CONCYTEC Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología, FONCHIP Asociación Fondo de Cooperación Hispano Peruano, FONDAM Fondo de las Americas, PROFONANPE, FIP Fondo Italo Peruano, FONAM Fondo Nacional del Ambiente, FITEL Fondo de Inversiones en Telecommunicaciones,, FONDOEMPLEO Fondo Nacional de Capacitación Laboral y de Promoción de Empleo, FONDEPES Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Pesquero, FCPJ Fondo Contravalor Perú-Japón and FCPF Fondo de Contravalor Perú Francia.

Financing may also be provided by international organizations, for example: GEF – Global Environmental Facility; IICA – Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura; FAO – Food and Agricultural Organization; IADB Inter-American Development Bank; FOMIN - Fondo Multilateral de Inversiones; WB – World Bank; Fondo de Ecoempresas; Verde Ventures; PPP – GTZ (Germany); SEAF – Small Enterprise Assistance Funds; ASN Bank; TRIODO Bank; Renewable Resources LLC; IFC – International Finance Corporation; BioCAF; CDC – Common Wealth Development Cooperation; FMO – Netherlands’s Development Finance Company.

POTENTIAL AMAZONIAN BIOPRODUCTS

The Peruvian Amazon has a lot of potential to develop products based on sustainable use of natural resources, which attract national and international investors. Some examples of Peruvian Amazon bioproducts with high potential are camu camu, aguaje and paiche. Camu camu is a fruit from the Peruvian Amazon which has entered in to the world markets, especially to Japan. There is an increasing international market that encourages the cultivation of this fruit, and Peru has the best genetic material and the technology for its efficient cultivation and production. The cultivation is very productive since one ha produces between 8 000 and 12 000 kg per year. Camu camu has attracted the attention of Peruvian researchers because of its high contents of vitamin C (2 700 – 2 800 mg / 100 g pulp), about 30 times more than the orange. Aguaje is a very popular fruit within the population of the Peruvian Amazon. It is also used to make ice cream and drinks and it is available around the year. Paiche is an Amazonian fish that has been praised for the quality of its meat. The market has been mainly towards Brazil and Colombia, but also to the United States, Canada and Japan.