The project sponsor is The Nature Conservancy (TNC), a non-governmental organization formed in 1951. Its mission is to preserve plants, animals, and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive.

The total project cost for the EcoEnterprises Fund (the fund) is US$10 million, of which the IFC-executed GEF portion comprises a US$1 million grant investment to The Nature Conservancy to support the fund''s technical assistance activities. TNC operates as the fund manager of Fondo EcoEmpresas, S.A. and directs EcoEnterprises Fund''s technical assistance component.

In order to ensure that the biodiversity benefits are maximized, US$550,000 of the grant funds will be used to underwrite the incremental costs of providing technical assistance on a project-by-project basis to businesses and local non-profit partners being supported by the fund''s risk capital arm, Fondo EcoEmpresas, S.A.

The remaining US$450,000 in GEF support is being sought to help defray the incremental costs of operating a biodiversity-oriented fund. Because the types of projects supported through EcoEnterprises Fund’s risk capital arm are community-oriented, smaller-sized, and involve emerging sectors, the investment process tends to require more creative participation and involves more difficult transactions than traditional investments. As a result, the incremental costs of operating EcoEnterprises Fund''s investment activities are expected to exceed those of a typical small enterprise fund. The GEF funding will help cover the higher costs and additional staff time involved in the more intensive process of developing, managing and exiting from these types of projects.

EcoEnterprises Fund has two offices. General operations and fund management are handled through The Nature Conservancy''s Worldwide office in Arlington, Virginia, while investment activities are handled through the fund''s office in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Investments and technical assistance assignments will be managed from the Costa Rica office and carried out throughout the Latin American and Caribbean region, in countries that are signatories of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

This is a category FI Type 2 project according to IFC’s environmental and social review procedure. Michele Pena will serve as the Environmental Manager and Mr. Lopez (based in Costa Rica) will serve as the Environmental Coordinator. The fund manager has committed to undertaking an environmental and social review of each investment where GEF funds are utilized; requiring all investments be carried out and operated in compliance with applicable host country environmental, health and safety requirements, in accordance with IFC safeguard policies and consistent with IFC''s Exclusion List; requiring that Category A investments meet the World Bank Group’s applicable environmental, health and safety guidelines; obtaining IFC’s clearance prior to making any Category A investment; and ensuring the release of the draft Environmental Assessment report no later than 60 days prior to the Fund’s final decision to invest in any Category A Project using GEF funds. Both the Fund Environmental Manager and the environmental coordinator have agreed to participate in environmental training, develop and operate an environmental management system, and provide an annual environmental performance report.
Location of environmental documents In locally affected community