Terra Capital Biodiversity Enterprise Fund for Latin America (IFC)

The project will support the establishment of a Fund of $20-50 million being established by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to make equity and quasi-equity investments in Latin American companies that sustainably use or protect biodiversity. Investments may include sustainable agriculture, use of underutilized species, sustainable forest management, non-timber products from forests and wildlands, and ecotourism. It will target investments of $300,000 to $10 million, a range which is frequently lacking funding because it is too high for conservation NGOs and too low for the IFC and other institutional financing. The GEF grant will pay the incremental costs associated with the higher-than-average, biodiversity-specific screening and evaluation costs of the fund's investments. IFC Board approval in June 1997 and final GEF Council endorsement in July 1997. Fund raising underway by fund managers. (NOTE: the reported total cost of $55 million assumes full authorized capitalization of the fund, combined with the value of the GEF funds.)