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 Published Tuesday, June 16, 2020 Funds
available for entrepreneurs
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff The Crea-C program will give funds to entrepreneurs located in rural areas of the country, announced the Ministry of Culture on Monday. The non-reimbursable funds are financed by the Development Banking System, through the University Agency for Entrepreneurship Management of the University of Costa Rica. The funds will be divided up in two parts. The first part will be awarded to 16 accepted projects, dispersing $6,300 per chosen proposal. In the second part, four projects will be chosen, each receiving $38,037 to finance the start-up of their idea. The guidelines for applying for the funds must consist of creating cultural organizations, between a group of people or companies from the same region, that develop activities or products to attract visitors to their communities. Organizations and interested participants will participate in informative workshops and then proceed with the formal registration of their proposal. The goal is to create alliances between groups in the same region and be able to offer their products and services to visitors from their territories. The groups of participants, known as a consortium, will be able to present proposals in the following artistic areas: • Crafts and Design. Refers to the art and technique of making products, with modern or traditional techniques. • Tourism. To attract tourists though trips or accommodations to different places in different seasons of the year. • Food and Cosmetics. Manufactured products, made up of both raw materials and derivatives thereof, which have undergone an industrial or artisan treatment to make it work at food or cosmetics. • Products and services with identity-culture. It is any other product or service that is based on identity, culture and design, to attract more people to buy or consume products or services with the identity of their territory. Entrepreneurs interested in participating in these funds must register before July 3. More information of necessary workshops and programs can be reached at the Crea-C website. This is the third organization offering non-refundable funds for entrepreneurs this month.  With the goal of financing projects that help reduce the spread and combat the effects on citizens' health derived from the covid-19, $156,205 of non-reimbursable funds have been set up to finance entrepreneurial projects, announced the Ministry of Science, Technology and Telecommunications last week. According to the ministry, the projects should be focused on the work that the National Emergency Commission is dealing with for covid-19 and related to the areas of health, nanotechnology, biotechnology or biomedical devices. Those in state university higher education institutions and scientific entities and entrepreneurs with non-profit private technology projects based in Costa Rica are encouraged to apply. "We launched this call for research as one more financing instrument that we make available in support of the efforts of the Costa Rican scientific and technological community to combat covid-19," Minister Paola Vega-Castillo said. Winners will receive up to a maximum of $52,068 per project. The maximum percentage of non-reimbursable financial aid will be up to 60% of the total cost of the project. The topics of projects that may compete for funds are the following: • Clinical practices, monitoring of clinical trials, clinical diagnosis, symptoms, severity, treatment. • Rapid diagnostic methodologies, laboratory tests, adaptation of diagnostic tests or other studies related to the diagnosis. • Treatment, development of drugs, phytopharmaceuticals and vaccines. • Epidemiological studies. • Other issues related to the fight against covid-19. The terms of the contest can be accessed on the Ministry's website. The project submission deadline is June 22. Another offering of non-refundable funds for entrepreneurs, was announced in May.  For small companies and organized groups developing green projects in the Greater Metropolitan Area, called GAM by its acronym in Spanish, can compete for funds, either non-refundable or lines of credit, announced the Ministry of Environment. GAM includes the Province of San José, Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago. The Green City Fund arises from an alliance between the Ministry of the Environment, the System of Conservation Areas, the Foundation for Sustainable Development and the German Development Cooperation Foundation, GIZ. "The people who live in the city depend on urban ecosystems and the benefits it gives us to live, hence the importance of this fund that promotes productivity and economic reactivation hand in hand with the conservation of natural resources," said Maike Potthast, director of the Biodiver_City, a cooperation project between Costa Rica and Germany. The goal is to support the financing of nature conservation projects through solutions for issues like climate change, food security, or disaster risk in urban spaces, said the ministry in its statement. Reforestation, rehabilitation of green spaces, urban tourism, construction based on green architecture and urban agriculture are some of the projects that could obtain the funds. Some of the requirements for companies or organizations interested in the contest are: • Be duly registered in the Public Registry. • Have the technical capacity to fulfill the project that is being entered. • The project must be designed to benefit the Cantons of San José center, Tibás, Curridabat, La Unión, Goicoechea, Alajuelita and Montes de Oca. The Green City Fund has two modalities of access to financing: a non-reimbursable modality and a credit leader. For both, there is a total of up to $390,000 in funds, a figure that could be expanded later to continue benefiting more contesters, the ministry said. Those interested in accessing non-reimbursable funds should send their proposals before Monday, June 22, by email to ciudadverde@fundecooperacion.org. More information on the guidelines for participating by the funds can be accessed on the Funde-Cooperacion website. --------------------------- What entrepreneurs do you know are looking for non-reimbursable funds to finance their projects? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com |
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