The BLOOM Regional Program

Further information on the BLOOM Barbados expert meetings in Austria, Denmark and Sweden from 5 to 8 September 2022 is available here 

Who is BLOOM?

BLOOM is coordinated by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and various regional economic communities (RECs) within the scope of the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centres (GN-SEC). Under a common programmatic umbrella, UNIDO assists RECs in the establishment of regional hubs, which support developing countries in the creation of national sustainable energy and climate technology (cleantech) clusters.

The focus lies on countries with weakly developed cleantech eco-systems, particularly low income and lower middle income countries (in line with the World Bank classification), as well as small island developing states (SIDS). Cleantech includes a broad range of energy and environmental technologies (e.g. renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste disposal, treatment and recycling, circular economy), services and related business models. The sector is also closely attached to the growing field of industry 4.0 solutions (e.g. digitalisation, artificial intelligence, internet of things, cyber-physical systems, robotics, big data and new visualisation models).

How we BLOOM?

The BLOOM regional hubs support national Governments to make cleantech a value-creating pillar of their energy, environment and industrialisation policies. Following a common methodology and set of services, the regional hubs support Governments in the establishment of national cleantech clusters. By creating a cluster infrastructure, intelligence and maker-space, BLOOM contributes to the creation of an enabling eco-system for cleantech entrepreneurship and innovation. BLOOM clusters provide a set of tailored modular services, which may include the following elements:

• Facilitate regular public-private dialogue on the national/regional cleantech vision and label 
• Facilitate networking and cooperation between  the cleantech business and industry community
• Build partnerships between cleantech businesses, applied universities and vocational centres/schools  
• Provide a makerspace for joint projects, testing, prototyping and product commercialisation 
• Provide coaching and incubation support to businesses and start-ups
• Organise award competitions and call for proposals
• Provide financial support for innovative business models and innovations in partnership with the financial sector 
• Provide qualification and certification support in priority technology areas
• Lobby for demand-side and supply-side oriented cleantech policies, regulations and incentives (e.g. net-metering, feed-in-tariffs, tax incentives, duty exemptions)
• Provide business intelligence services on export and funding opportunities
• Monitor and track national/regional cleantech progress (e.g. surveys,  industry reports and briefs)
• Provide matchmaking services with financiers, investors or the diaspora 

The BLOOM vision: 
We work towards an inclusive energy and climate transition, which creates local jobs and turn-over in developing countries, and enables domestic private-sector to participate in global value chains of cleantech manufacturing and servicing. 

The BLOOM mission: 
We support the creation of national technology clusters in developing countries, which create a joint vision and makerspace for cleantech entrepreneurship and innovation. BLOOM clusters offer shared services and resources to cleantech businesses, entrepreneurs and start-ups. 

Why BLOOM regional?

BLOOM contributes to the regional integration efforts of RECs to build common single markets for products and services in traditional and emerging sectors. The latter includes the area of cleantech, which is closely attached to the  growing field of industry 4.0 solutions (e.g. digitalisation, artificial intelligence, internet of things, cyber-physical systems, robotics, big data and new visualisation models). A regional approach allows to create economies of scale and equal progress between countries. BLOOM contributes a broad range of global, regional and national policies related to SDG-9, SDG-7 and SDG-13. Initially, BLOOM focuses on partnerships with the following regions:

• Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) / ECREEE
• Southern African Development Community (SADC) / SACREEE
• East African Community (EAC) / EACREEE
• Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS)
• Caribbean Community (CARICOM) / CCREEE
• Pacific Community (SPC) / PCREEE
• Central American Integration System (SICA) / SICREEE
• Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO)

Implementation:

BLOOM is being implemented in close partnership with  Ministries responsible for sustainable energy, industry, innovation and entrepreneurship. The ownership lies with the local institutions. UNIDO provides technical assistance and mentoring services directly or through the Global Network of Regional Sustainable Energy Centres (GN-SEC) and other programs. Close links to programs such as Global Clean Tech Innovation Program (GCIP) will be created. 

• Tailored to the individual situation of the cleantech market and urban and rural needs 
• Regional platforms lie in the ownership of the GN-SECs and RECs 
• National cleantech clusters lie in the ownership of national Governments and/or private sector
• Clusters follow a government-industry-research cooperation model
• Usually set-up as public-private partnerships 
• Timely limited support of UNIDO for regional platforms and clusters
• Financial sustainability through public funding, membership fees, climate and donor funding and fee-for-service 

Contacts:

Global BLOOM Coordination:
Mr. Martin Lugmayr,
E-mail: m.lugmayr@unido.org and bloom@gn-sec.net
GN-SEC Secretariat
UNIDO
Vienna International Centre (VIC)

BLOOM Clean Tech Cluster Barbados:
Mr. Mark Hill, CEO, BIDC 
Mr. Jari Aaltonen, Cluster Manager
https://bloomcluster.com
Barbados Investment & Development Corporation (BIDC)
Bridgetown, Barbados