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Innovate 4 Nature and FUNDES Partner to Advance Nature-Positive Innovation in Latin America

  • Innovate 4 Nature (I4N) and FUNDES announce a strategic partnership to lay the foundation for I4N’s first Regional Hub in Latin America.
  • The goal is to mobilise partners and funders to establish the Hub in the coming months.
  • This marks a major milestone in I4N’s mission to accelerate 100+ regenerative solutions worldwide by 2030.
I4N Executive Director Barbara Dubach with Juan Pablo Rodríguez Zamora, Mónica Gutiérrez Ortiz and Mauricio Ramírez from FUNDES.

Heredia, Costa Rica, 16 October 2025 – Innovate 4 Nature (I4N), a Swiss foundation accelerating nature-positive innovation across the globe, has announced a strategic partnership with FUNDES, a leading Latin American organisation with four decades of experience supporting sustainable business growth.

This partnership represents the first step towards establishing the I4N Regional Hub in Latin America, which will be launched once the required funding and strategic partnerships are in place. The Hub, based in Costa Rica, aims to serve as a regional platform to identify, support, and scale early-stage nature-positive startups that respond to Latin America’s urgent environmental challenges.

Partnership for Local Action and Global Impact

I4N’s Regional Hubs are designed to strengthen local ecosystems by connecting innovators with investors, corporations, and community stakeholders. The collaboration with FUNDES will focus on building a strong foundation and partner network to make the Latin America Hub a reality.

“The urgency of the nature crisis demands locally driven solutions. With FUNDES as our partner, the Latin America Hub will not only surface and accelerate innovative startups but also create the connections that enable them to scale across regions and globally.”

Barbara Dubach, Executive Director of Innovate 4 Nature

“FUNDES has a long history of empowering small and medium enterprises across Latin America. Partnering with I4N enables us to bring this experience into the field of nature-positive innovation, building the foundation for a regional hub that can create lasting impact.”

Mauricio Ramírez, Director of FUNDES

Launch Event in Costa Rica

The partnership was formally announced during an event at FUNDES Internacional in Heredia, Costa Rica, bringing together entrepreneurs, business leaders, investors, NGOs and sustainability experts. The programme featured:

  • Keynote by Barbara Dubach on innovation and nature
  • Pitches by finalists of the I4N Award 2025:
    • Sebastian Goldschmidt (NILUS)
    • Andrea Bonilla (BioPlaster Research)
    • Fred Campos & Philip Kauder (Courageous Land)
    • Matias Figliozzi (Unibaio)
  • Panel discussion on regional opportunities and challenges in nature-positive entrepreneurship with:
    • Natalia Meza Ramírez, BIOFIN
    • Mauricio Solano, GIZ
    • Gerardo Miranda Fernández, FIFCO
  • The official announcement of the strategic partnership between I4N and FUNDES

 

An interactive online session was also held to engage participants across the region.

Building the Hub Together

The planned Latin America Regional Hub is part of I4N’s global strategy to establish a network of hubs worldwide. The vision is that from 2026 onwards, once established, these hubs will host regional awards feeding into the annual Global I4N Award, ensuring strong regional representation and local impact whilst amplifying scalable solutions to a global audience.

I4N is actively seeking strategic partners and co-investors to support the development of the Latin America Hub. Partners will gain access to a curated portfolio of innovations, strong ESG positioning, opportunities for co-creation, and international visibility.

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