According to the FAO, "Suriname is the most forested country in the world with more than 15.2 million hectares of forest cover (93 percent of its total area); however, the country is not able to capture the full benefits from its forestry sector in a viable way. Suriname is not gaining the full economic benefits from this sector due to limited local value-added in the absence of an industry value-chain for sustainable timber and value-added products. Currently, about 80 percent of wood exported from Suriname is shipped in the form of raw logs with little local value added.
While several donors including the IDB in Suriname are working to implement sustainable forestry systems and practices at the level of public agencies, IDB Lab conceptualized the SUSTAME (SUStainable Timber in SurinAME) project to enhance the capacity of local private sector actors to enable them to address and have a positive impact on the environmental, economic and social sustainability of the forestry sector in Suriname.

The project is piloting a model to catalyze a market-based approach to sustainable timber extraction and processing that will generate the economic gains of transitioning from extraction and export of raw timber to sustainable harvesting and wood processing for more discriminating and higher value markets with the broad participation of stakeholders, including Indigenous and Maroon communities. The project is co-financed by IDB's Amazon Bioeconomy and Forest Management Fund (AMZ) and implemented by the IDB Country Office in Suriname.
One of the key components of this project aims to support local private sector actors (including community enterprises from IPLC) in transitioning to sustainable extraction, processing, and export of timber and timber products.
The open call for proposals is targeting these private sector actors to receive technical/financial support to implement projects that would contribute to this goal.
The winners of the call for proposals will be positioned as demonstration units for sustainable practices within the timber value chain.
We are looking for proposals that seek to implement solutions that will:
Sustainable sourcing, Waste reduction, Product diversification (value added products)
- Proposals should executed in Suriname and can be submitted by startups, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME)*, NGOs, and others ventures with demonstrated expertise or capacity in at least one of the proposed areas of focus
- Submitting organizations should be legally registered in Suriname where the project is being implemented.
- If deemed necessary submitting organizations could partner with other organizations if the partner organization is legally registered in one of the 48 members countries of the IDB Group.
* We define a MSME as a organization with less than 40 employees
** A ready to implement solution is a proposal that can demonstrate successful deployment of a prototype/Minimum Viable Product (MVP).
Applicants whose proposals are selected can receive non-reimbursable financing to implement the proposed project. An organization can only receive funding one time, this includes organizations participating in joint ventures or other forms of collaboration. Our target is to fund maximum of 17 project proposals.
(max 10 projects)
(max 5 projects)
(max 2 projects)

Time frame: October 4, 2024 – January 30, 2025
Proposals will be received on a rolling basis, beginning October 4, 2024, with monthly reviews until the end of the call.
The proposals can be submitted in English or Dutch. Please download the form templates, annexes and guidelines in the preferred language and submit your proposal by sending the filled-out form and annexes to SUSTAME@iadb.org
For the templates and guidelines in English please click the links below:
- SUSTAME call for proposals guidelines
- SUSTAME call for proposals submission form
- Annex III - IDD gathering form
- Annex II - Due Diligence form
- Annex I - ESG exclusion list
Voor de formulieren en handleiding in het Nederlands klik op de links hieronder aub:
- SUSTAME call for proposals richtlijnen
- SUSTAME call for proposals aanvraagformulier
- Bijlage III - IDD verzamel formulier
- Bijlage II - Due Diligence formulier
- Bijlage I - ESG verboden activiteiten
If you have any questions, please send an email to SUSTAME@iadb.org
If you have any questions please send an email to SUSTAME@iadb.org