From ideas to development

(Rio de Janeiro, June 21, 2012). "Latin America has the potential to generate internationally patentable advanced technologies which contribute to sustainable development," Enrique Garc�a, president & CEO of CAF - development bank of Latin America - said at the launch of the Regional Initiative for Technological Innovation in the Renewable Energy Sector, held today in Brazil, as part of Rio+20.

After the launch, the CAF president and FINEP President Glauco Arbix signed an agreement under which the two institutions will make joint efforts to develop Brazil’s potential for innovation. The two organizations pledged to support the Initiative in the country with USD100 million each over the next four years.

"Under the agreement, FINEP will expand its activities and strengthen its relations with neighboring nations. Investing in innovation to keep on growing is a key issue for the region," Arbix said, noting that the amount of financing from the institution he heads will come from the Brazilian Development Program, launched last Tuesday.

Garc�a emphasized the importance of promoting technological innovation as a tool to help Latin America make the transition from a model of comparative advantages to one of competitive advantages with social inclusion. "CAF has set up partnerships with prestigious institution leaders in promoting and financing technological innovation - such as FINEP - to guarantee the effectiveness of the Initiative and access to local expertise in the sector."

The initiative promoted by CAF will create a regional platform to generate international patents in Latin America related to new renewable energy technologies. The initiative emerged from identification (through the Sustainable Energy Program) of the need to promote this type of patent as a means of exploiting the region’s abundant currently underutilized renewable energy resources.

Through the initiative, invitations to submit patentable technology proposals will be made followed by implementation of pilot projects for the technologies selected.

Specifically, the multilateral financial institution aims to set up patent incubators, train innovators, stimulate conceptualization of new technologies, implement pilot demonstration projects, and support marketing of the technologies generated through the initiative together with their intellectual property.