WASHINGTON D.C., United States, Tuesday April 7, 2015, CMC – Haiti is the lone Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country named among the winners of the IDEAS V 2014 Energy Innovation Contest, an initiative by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for improving energy efficiency and expanding access to renewable energy in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The IDB said that the other winners came from Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Nicaragua and Guatemala. It said there were 282 entries from all 26 IDB member borrowing countries.

FdS Haiti submitted a proposal for an ecological biomass stove.

The contest was sponsored by the Energy Sustainability Fund from Mexico’s National Council on Science and Technology (CONACYT) and the Ministry of Energy (SENER), the South Korea government, the Multilateral Investment Fund and the IDB.

The contest sought proposals to promote innovative solutions to energy problems, benefit local communities or regions, create jobs, and contribute to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Each winner will receive up to US$100,000, as well as technical and business development support to implement or scale up their ideas. They will also receive access to consultations with technical experts, policy makers, institutions, and potential financial partners.

“The goal is to enable the winners to turn their ideas into financially sustainable businesses, thereby helping solve the energy problems of the region,” the IDB said.

“This year’s IDEAS winners provide an excellent example of the quality of innovation our region is capable of developing. The IDEAS contest recognizes the region’s brightest innovators and helps improve the region’s economic performance,” said Arnaldo Vieira de Carvalho, IDEAS team leader at the IDB.

Read more: http://www.caribbean360.com/news/haiti-lone-caribbean-nation-to-win-idb-energy-innovation-contest#ixzz3Wg3yXheu