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Manila Bulletin devider Business devider US dangles $3-million fund to eco-friendly MSMEs in Philippines, ASEAN

US dangles $3-million fund to eco-friendly MSMEs in Philippines, ASEAN

Published Oct 29, 2024 04:23 am

The US Department of State is looking for eco-friendly small entrepreneurs in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including the Philippines, that it will bankroll under its $3-million Smart Cities Business Innovation Fund (BIF) 2.0 initiative.

In an Oct. 28 statement, the US State Department announced that in cooperation with the US-ASEAN Smart Cities Partnership (USASCP) and the Stockholm Environment Institute, the new and bigger fund will "support micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in ASEAN member-states pioneering innovative, carbon-neutral solutions to urban challenges."

The first $1-million BIF launched in 2022 extended financing of between $100,000 and $200,000 each to individual projects in the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia and Vietnam, the statement noted.

In particular, the pilot beneficiary-projects were in the areas of agroecology gardens, biodegradable seaweed packaging, carbon footprinting, hydrologic flood monitoring systems, plastics recycling as well as solar panel recycling, hence "underscoring the US' commitment to accelerate urban sustainability and climate action across the ASEAN region," the State Department said.

BIF 2.0, which is thrice larger, will specifically fund carbon-neutral urban innovation projects, the statement added.

"The US Department of State will partner with Enterprise Singapore, a government agency which champions enterprise development under Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry, and will finance select joint projects between ASEAN member-states and Singapore to expand private-sector cooperation and promote ASEAN-Singapore business partnerships to accelerate urban innovation and sustainable market solutions," it said.

"This partnership with Enterprise Singapore will support Singapore-based companies' collaboration with entities in ASEAN, defined as companies, non-government organizations (NGOs), and universities registered with at least 51-percent ownership in an ASEAN member-state, through joint activities such as research and development to bring projects to market," it added.

According to USASCP's website, proposals for BIF 2.0 can be submitted until mid-January 2025 among ASEAN enterprises applying individually or as a consortium, while ASEAN entities partnering with Singaporean firms can apply up to mid-February of next year.

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US State Deaprtment small and medium enterprise (SME)
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