Finnova attends the Internationalisation of Sustainable Fashion Congress in Bogota

  • On the 3rd and 4th of May, the Bogota Chamber of Commerce (CCB) is hosting Soy Sostenible, the CCB’s first event focused on sustainability for entrepreneurs and business people.
  • On Thursday 4th of May, the Internationalisation of Sustainable Fashion Congress will be held, within the framework of the initiative “Sustainability in the Fashion sector for its internationalisation” financed by the European Comimission within the Triangular Cooperation Programme Adelante 2, with a total budget of 182,696 euros.
  • Adrián Noheda, director of Innovation and Environment of the Finnova Foundation, will give a talk on European funds for sustainable development and circular economy.

On Wednesday 3rd of May and Thursday 4th of May, the Bogota Chamber of Commerce will host the macro event «Soy Sostenible», the CCB’s first event focused on sustainability for entrepreneurs and business people, which will bring together all stakeholders and national and international experts. Over two days, experiences and best practices of companies and organisations that have implemented successful business sustainability strategies in their operations will be shared, promoting knowledge transfer and collaboration among participants. On Thursday, 4th of June, the International Congress on Sustainable Fashion will be held, the finishing touch to the 8 months of work carried out through the initiative «Sustainability in the Fashion sector for its internationalisation» financed by the European Commission within the Adelante 2 Triangular Cooperation Programme. Led by the Bogota Chamber of Commerce, the Sustainable Fashion Cluster of Peru and the Finnova Foundation have participated in the event.

Adrián Noheda, director of Innovation and Environment of the Finnova Foundation, one of the members together with the Sustainable Fashion Cluster of Peru of this initiative that is part of the Adelante 2 Programme of the European Commission, will attend on behalf of the Foundation and will speak about European funds for sustainable development and circular economy on Thursday, 4th of May.

After months of work, exchanges of experiences and knowledge and networking sessions, the Adelante 2 project will present its conclusions on Thursday 4th of May at the International Congress on Sustainable Fashion. The event aims to be the setting for sharing experiences and best practices of companies and organisations that have implemented successful business sustainability strategies in their operations, promoting knowledge transfer and collaboration among participants. The space will allow entrepreneurs to learn about aspects related to sustainable industry in the sector, innovation processes and green seals. It will also present the lessons learned and the experience lived in the missions and other activities of the initiative «Sustainability in the fashion sector for its internationalisation», carried out with resources from the European Union, through the cooperation window Adelante 2.

The conference on 4 May will be opened by Juan Carlos González Vergara, Vice President of Competitiveness CCB. After him, Livia Galita, Programme Manager of the Triangular Cooperation Programme ADELANTE 2 of the European Commission, DG-INTPA (International Partnerships), will explain the Triangular Cooperation Programme Adelante 2.

This will be followed by an international conference by Marianna Sousa, Manager of Corporate Strategy and Sustainability Management – WTS (World Textile Soucing) Peru, followed by the Panel «The sustainable fashion agenda for companies in the sector, with an institutional vision», moderated by María Mónica Conde, VP. International Relations CCB, with the participation of Alejandro Bañol, leader of international cooperation in the Office of Green and Sustainable Business of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development; Bibian Ximena García, leader of the Sustainable Fashion Platform Global Compact Colombia; and Nadia Rojas, advisor of GIZ (German Cooperation Agency).

Martha Ligia Gracia, director of the Fashion MacroSector and the CCB clothing cluster, Sergio Salamanca, leader of the leather, footwear and leather goods cluster and José Alejandro Martínez, Associate Professor and researcher in sustainability and circular economy will participate in the panel Socialisation of the Guide «Sustainability in the Fashion Sector for its Internationalisation».

Adrián Noheda, director of Innovation and Environment of the Finnova Foundation, will speak about European funds for sustainable development and circular economy. 

Daniel Gómez, cluster strategy manager of the CCB, will moderate the panel The transition of the fashion industry towards sustainability, with the interventions of Ana Maria Sierra, CEO Moda Elan – Colombia; Mónica Fonnegra, – designer – Colombia; Paula Cristóbal, director of Product Sepiia, Spain; and Esperanza Almodóvar, head of the international relations department of INESCOP. The latter two have been closely linked to the European project CirCoAX by CircularInnoBooster, co-financed by the European Commission under the COSME programme, and whose objective is to transform companies in the textile and fashion industry into sustainable, circular and regenerative companies. Sepiia, a company that combines fashion and technology through cutting-edge technical fabrics and garments that combine «functionality and design», was the winner of the CirCoAX Startup Europe Awards 2022, a tool that will accelerate and scale its textile technology with 100% recycled and circular fibres worldwide.

The morning will end with the launch of the Guía de Pymes Íntegras, by Ana Maria Fergusson and Lina Velásquez (Bancolombia), and the afternoon will focus on an academic agenda with several informative and educational workshops.             

This event closes a series of meetings between representatives of the Bogota Chamber of Commerce, the Peruvian Fashion Cluster and  Finnova Foundation. During this time, the members of the Alliance have attended training courses, shared strategies, and have benefited from experiences and knowledge that help companies in the sector to focus on sustainable production, the requirements to enter the European market, new business models and compliance with the SDGs 10, 13 and 17. Within this initiative, activities such as knowledge transfer workshops, an international sustainability course for the fashion sector, certified by the EAN University, and study visits with 24 MSMEs to Peru and Spain have been developed.

Sustainability initiative in the fashion sector for its internationalisation

Last September, the Finnova Foundation, the Bogota Chamber of Commerce and the Sustainable Fashion Cluster of Peru joined forces to carry out the initiative Sustainability in the fashion sector for its internationalisation. This initiative, which will conclude in April 2023, seeks to share the knowledge of the entities of the Alliance to develop and apply support models for companies in the fashion sector, characterised by the promotion of sustainable production that complies with the highest international standards.

In order to approach the programme from different perspectives, ADELANTE 2 has different components: operational support to articulate the ADELANTE Window for Triangular Cooperation between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean; analytical support to develop the analysis and studies of Triangular Cooperation together with the Ibero-American General Secretariat; and institutional support to develop bilateral Triangular Cooperation funds between the EU and certain Latin American and Caribbean countries.  In this way, the programme can meet the Sustainable Development Goals to leave no one behind thanks to Triangular Cooperation. Among other actions, a mapping of certifications and environmental sustainability seals has been carried out through the transfer of European and regional good practices. In addition, awareness-raising, training and business missions have been launched for the benefit of companies in Bogota and Peru to strengthen the capacities of the Alliance member teams. These actions are focused on achieving greater impact, transfer and scalability of the knowledge generated.

About the Finnova Foundation

Finnova is the Spanish-Belgian non-profit foundation based in Brussels and Spain, working for the promotion and development of innovation and entrepreneurship in the EU. Finnova’s experience in leading communication and dissemination activities for European projects is combined with a proven track record in business creation and entrepreneurship support programmes, such as accelerators, incubators and events, as well as its commitment to training and employability of young people. 

One of the areas in which the Foundation is heavily involved is the textile sector, the second most polluting industry in the world. For this reason, it has launched the Next Textile Generation platform, which aims to give visibility to and promote innovative ideas on sustainable practices in fashion and textiles. Through this platform, Finnova disseminates relevant information related to the industry with information on other European projects.

ISEM visits Finnova’s offices in Brussels to discuss future collaborations in European projects in the fashion sector

Finnova presents the CircoAx by CirculaInnoBooster project in Bogota as a successful case