Bogotá, December 1, 2020. GGGI Colombia’s Country Representative Carolina Jaramillo moderated a discussion on bioeconomy as a mechanism for economic reactivation for the 7th Climate Finance Event 2020, organized by Colombia’s National Planning Department. A dialogue was held on lessons learned in Bioeconomy from Colombia and the United Kingdom from the perspectives of the private sector and the research, development, and innovation field.
Joining the conversation were Kris Wadrop – General Manager Biotechnology & Step-Out Business Units at the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI), and Juan Felipe Montoya – President of Incubadora Santander SAS. Mr. Montoya shared his experience of his poultry company, which has incorporated biotechnology components into their production processes, reducing their carbon footprint and increasing competitiveness by using a biodigestion circuit to transform chicken manure into energy and liquid organic fertilizer.
“The entities involved have to be prepared for the arrival of these technologies. It is not only about us entrepreneurs being the innovators, but the government also has to make procedures more agile, and that we can act as part of an integrated chain”, said Mr. Montoya, highlighting the importance of working on a state policy in favor of agriculture.
To this, Mr. Wadrop added that if the Colombian government were to provide legislation and regulation, it must seek to move at the same speed as technology and markets. He also emphasized the importance of collaboration between industries and academic institutions, who should focus on producing technological advances for domestic use, instead of prioritizing international markets for their products and innovations.
To close the discussion, Carolina Jaramillo added that GGGI, with the support of the UK PACT program in Colombia, will continue to work with the national government in the launch and implementation of the Bioeconomy strategy to promote new green lines of business and sustainable industrial processes, such as those of Incubadora Santander.
On the 7th Climate Finance Event 2020
An annual event organized to boost the mobilization of climate finance within the framework of Colombia’s resilient and sustainable economic reactivation. The event counts on the involvement of key actors from the private, public, financial, and academic sectors and cooperative countries, receiving inputs on the design and consolidation of mechanisms to strengthen climate action initiatives in Colombia’s prioritized and intersectoral sectors.
Click here to watch the full session (available in Spanish).