LuxAid Challenge Fund selects four Costa Rican companies to boost innovative agritech solutions

Four Costa Rican companies have been selected for co-financing through the LuxAid Challenge Fund, an initiative of the Luxembourg Cooperation, implemented by LuxDev, the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency, with the support of the Embassy of Luxembourg in Costa Rica. Through almost EUR 480,000 in non-repayable co-financing from Luxembourg, the initiative will support the awarded companies in advancing solutions for more sustainable agriculture and food systems.

The LuxAid Challenge Fund, designed to mobilise private-sector innovation with the potential to contribute to sustainable development, will support four Costa Rican companies selected through a highly competitive process involving 137 initial opened applications. BioVENKO, Guerrero Agrícola, Cultura Fungi and BioConversión will receive nearly EUR 480,000 in non-repayable co-financing from Luxembourg.

Together with the companies’ own investment, the four projects will mobilise a total of EUR 1.49 million to advance solutions addressing concrete challenges in agriculture and food systems. 

The selected projects tackle different challenges : reducing dependence on conventional pesticides, expanding sustainable agricultural production models, developing food through circular approaches, and transforming agricultural waste into new resources.

BioVENKO develops microbiological solutions based on naturally occurring microorganisms to help control pests and diseases. The co-financing will accelerate the development, validation and regulatory processes of new solutions for crops such as citrus fruits, bananas and vegetables, while strengthening the company’s research and development capabilities.

Guerrero Agrícola, based in Zarcero, has developed a business model connecting certified producers with bio-inputs, technical assistance, collection and commercialisation services, and knowledge transfer. The project will expand its collection capacity, bring more producers into the model and increase the availability of sustainably produced food.

Cultura Fungi produces gourmet and functional mushrooms through a circular economy model in which agricultural by-products become production inputs and waste is reintegrated into the production cycle. The co-financing will enable the company to increase capacity, strengthen its circular ecosystem and expand the production of mushrooms and functional extracts to meet existing demand.

BioConversión has developed BIOCRISOL, a technology that transforms residues from activities such as coffee, pineapple, sugar cane and oil palm production into renewable energy and biochar. The project will take the technology from an operational demonstration unit to a pre-industrial phase, testing it under real conditions with producers and cooperatives before moving towards larger-scale industrial implementation. 

The selection process also provided a closer look at the diversity and maturity of Costa Rica’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

For LuxDev and the Embassy of Luxembourg in Costa Rica, the selection marks the transition from a competitive process to the implementation of four concrete projects through which Luxembourg Development Cooperation will support Costa Rican companies in taking promising solutions to a new stage of development.

For BioVENKO, Guerrero Agrícola, Cultura Fungi and BioConversión, that next stage means increasing production capacity, expanding their reach and strengthening the growth potential of solutions designed to address concrete challenges facing agriculture and food systems.

The LuxAid Challenge Funs is financed by the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and implemented by LuxDev, the Luxembourg Development Cooperation Agency.