A Brazilian manufacturer of a native fabric from the Amazon, a chain of Mexican coffee shops specializing in organic coffee, and a producer of solar coffee dryers in Costa Rica have won the 2002 New Ventures business competition.

The winning companies, whose business plans call for investments ranging from $500,000 to $1.5 million, are:

• AmazonLife S.A., a Brazilian pioneer in manufacturing and commercializing a leather-like rubberized fabric for the fashion industry. The company uses a unique raw material extracted from the Amazon and works with local indigenous and rubber tapper families.
  
  
• Café La Selva, an upscale chain of Mexican coffee shops that operates through a unique alliance among small investors and the indigenous communities of Chiapas to offer certified organic coffee.
  
  
• Solar Trade Corporation, a company in Costa Rica that has the exclusive right to manufacture and sell industrial solar biomass coffee dryers designed by its non-profit affiliate. The innovative patent-pending technology delivers significant cost savings in energy while delivering improved coffee quality and environmental benefits.

"Before working with New Ventures, our business was disconnected from the support networks for sustainable companies," said David Velasco, project coordinator of Café La Selva. "In preparing for this competition, the New Ventures team gave us visibility, helped us strategize, and provided us access to potential partners and investors. That ultimately helped us win this competition, which leaves us well positioned to engage investors."

The winners were announced at the end of the Third Annual New Ventures Investor Forum, held Nov. 14-15, 2002, in Monterrey, Mexico. The forum is Latin America's premiere marketplace for investors and corporations who understand that investing in sustainable enterprises makes good business sense.

Since the first competition in 2000, the New Ventures Investor Forums have facilitated the transfer of $4.4 million to sustainable entrepreneurs in Latin America; an additional $2 million is currently under negotiation.

"We are delighted to recognize these talented entrepreneurs and are confident that investors will come forward to help grow their businesses," said Luiz Ros, director of WRI's New Ventures. "The common commitment among the winners to preserving biodiversity illustrates the growing concern among entrepreneurs about this issue. Our next regional New Ventures Investor Forum will have an exclusive focus on such enterprises."

During the forum, Mexico's Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, Victor Lichtinger, applauded the New Ventures model and announced the launch of a similar initiative to support Mexican sustainable entrepreneurs.

"New partnerships with influential institutions are critical to our mission of moving sustainable enterprises from the margin to the mainstream in Latin America," said Ros. "The Mexico program, and a similar program in Brazil, will help us accomplish our mission."