By Pacific Island Times News Staff
The Marshall Islands Development Bank, the Federated States of Micronesia Development Bank and The Nature Conservancy Micronesia and Polynesia have joined forces to support reef-positive businesses in Marshall Islands and FSM.
The partnership has established the Blue Economy Accelerator Fund, which will bring funding from the banks and technical and financial expertise from TNC to support community business startups or expand existing businesses that will also benefit coral reef ecosystems.
The Blue Economy Accelerator Fund will enable micro, small, and medium enterprises to access investment capital to scale up their business models. These funds are intended to support reef-positive businesses including aquaculture and waste management work that will benefit coral reefs.
In addition to the direct investment capital, the Accelerator will work to improve the business and financial skills of local entrepreneurs, while the implementing parties will work to ensure that benefits are distributed equitably across communities, including amongst marginalized sub-groups such as women and youth.
“We are excited about this partnership with the development banks to support reef positive businesses in the region and contribute to coral reef conservation,” said Noah Idechong, executive director of TNC Micronesia and Polynesia.
“With the challenges facing our coral reefs, we need to come together and bring both private and public sector funding to support coral reefs conservation and management. We are grateful for the support of the Global Fund for Coral Reefs to the Micronesia Coral Reefs Program to allow us to explore and create these innovative partnerships to support coral reef conservation and management across Micronesia,” he added.
Anna Mendiola, president and CEO of the FSM Development Bank, said the development banks aim to support business and local economic development, while TNC aims to support reef-positive businesses, so this partnership helps both groups to achieve their goals.
Dwight Heine, managing director of the Marshall Islands Development Bank, said the partnership will not only provide funding but also “the needed training and expertise to businesses who apply to the Accelerator Fund, so that we can increase their chances of being successful in developing their businesses.”
The Blue Economy Accelerator Fund is expected to be launch toward the end of next year. (TNC)
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