The Agribusiness food company, AgroAmerica, is sponsoring the 100K Innovation Fund grant competition for higher education projects aimed at universities in Guatemala, the United States, Central America and the Dominican Republic.

The 100K Innovation Fund New Grant Competition is sponsored by the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the U.S. Department of State and supported by AgroAmerica, the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala and the NGO Partners of the Americas. The 100K Fund will be awarded in 12 grants of $25,000 this year to support new higher education projects with innovative models of academic training and student exchange programs between the United States and the region, beginning in January 2022.

AgroAmerica is the second multinational company in Guatemala to join this public-private initiative. The company’s CEO, Fernando Bolaños Valle, said that “it is with great enthusiasm that AgroAmerica joins the State Department as a strategic partner in this regional initiative, in an organic way, because of our shared values; building, through educational programs, a more prosperous future full of hope for our countries. At AgroAmerica, we are convinced that the future of our continent depends on strategic investments like these, which will multiply prosperity for the United States, Guatemala and the region.”

Javier Aguirre, corporate director of AgroAmerica, explained that the company donated funds to strengthen local capacities in the areas of climate change, human rights, natural resource management, sustainable agriculture, conservation and reforestation, environmental protection and sustainable businesses.

Other disciplines and subject areas included in this 100K grant contest are: public health; health sciences; educational technology; nutrition sciences; water, sanitation and hygiene; business development; science, technology, engineering and mathematics among others.

“The new 100K Strong Americas Innovation Fund partnerships, supported by AgroAmerica and the Department of State, will grow the number of students in the United States, Central America and the Dominican Republic, so working together, they will acquire valuable new skills and knowledge and grow our economies,” said Julie Chung, acting assistant secretary of the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the U.S. Department of State.

About the 100K Innovation Fund

 The 100,000 Strong in the Americas Innovation Fund is the public-private sector collaboration between the Department of State, U.S. embassies and Partners of the Americas to promote a positive agenda for the entire region by harnessing the power of education.

As a result of this initiative, more students in the hemisphere have been able to access innovative training and academic exchange programs to conduct research, acquire technical and linguistic skills, work in teams and prepare themselves for the demands of the workforce.

From its creation in 2013 to date, the 100K Innovation Fund has awarded 243 grants (ranging from $25,000 to $35,000 each) to teams working within 493 institutions of higher education, in 25 countries and 49 U.S. states.

Institutions of higher education in the United States and in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Belize, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic are invited to submit their 100K grant proposals to Partners of the Americas before August 2, 2021.

The form to submit proposals is available at 100kstrongamericas.org/grants

About AgroAmerica

AgroAmerica is an agribusiness company dedicated to the production and commercialization of food products, through the use of sustainable and responsible cultivation methods. It operates in Europe, the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru and Panama. AgroAmerica operates on the basis of a corporate sustainability strategy to generate value and balance between economic growth, natural resource conservation and the well-being of its customers, employees and stakeholders.