The European Investment Bank and Dominican lender Banco de Ahorro y Crédito ADOPEM have signed a €4.5 million agreement to finance projects linked to sargassum — the seaweed that regularly washes up along Caribbean coasts — in the Dominican Republic.
The loan, provided through EIB Global, is backed by an EFSD+ guarantee from the European Commission and is subject to approval by the Superintendency of Banks of the Dominican Republic, the EIB announced on Sunday.
Funding will be available for businesses with fewer than 10 employees and for small and medium-sized enterprises, with a focus on projects involving the collection, transport and safe storage of sargassum in the Dominican Republic.
The package also includes €1.1 million in European Commission technical assistance, supported by EIB Advisory, to help develop projects and strengthen business capacity.
Sargassum influxes have become a recurring environmental and economic challenge across the Caribbean, disrupting coastal communities, tourism, fisheries and marine ecosystems.
Announced at EU-Caribbean conference
The agreement was announced during the 4th EU-Caribbean Global Gateway Conference on Sargassum in Cancún, Mexico, the EIB said.
The financing supports the Global Gateway flagship initiative “Turning the Tide: Sustainable Practices and Economic Opportunities for Sargassum Value Chain Development in the Caribbean Basin”, which involves the European Union, Caribbean governments, development finance institutions, researchers and businesses.
The initiative is linked to a regional ambition to collect 660,000 tonnes of sargassum by 2027, including 150,000 tonnes in the Dominican Republic.
EIB Vice-President Ioannis Tsakiris said the package combines financing, expertise and safeguards with the support of the European Commission and ADOPEM.
European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela said “record influxes” of sargassum are threatening coastal communities and livelihoods across the Caribbean.
ADOPEM president Mercedes Canalda de Beras Goico said the partnership would provide local businesses with financing and knowledge to respond to the sargassum challenge “responsibly” and create new sources of income in coastal areas.
