Green Hub Chile: Aster, Accelerator of Efficient Technologies in Chile (IADB-CH-G1011)

Regions
  • Latin America and Caribbean
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Chile
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Antofagasta region
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • Inter-American Development Bank (IADB)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Active
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Feb 16, 2024
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Government of Chile
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Energy
  • Industry and Trade
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Grant
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 0.40 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Grant Amount (USD)
$ 0.40 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 0.40 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Bank Documents
Media Documents
Campaign Documents
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ IADB website

Updated in EWS Apr 28, 2026

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the IADB, the objective of the project is to support the financing of climate innovation startups in Chile through the Aster acceleration and financing program implemented in the Antofagasta Region.

Early Warning System Project Analysis
For a project with severe or irreversible impacts to local community and natural resources, the Early Warning System Team may conduct a thorough analysis regarding its potential impacts to human and environmental rights.

PRELIMINARY CLASSIFICATION ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT FI-2. FI-2 (medium risk) FI’s portfolio consists of business activities that have potential limited adverse environmental or
social risks or impacts.

The objective of the project is to support the financing of climate innovation startups in Chile through the Aster acceleration and financing program implemented in the Antofagasta Region.
Partners of Aster include BHP and its Escondida mine, one of the largest known copper deposits in the world. BHP has been repeatedly accused of violations of E&HR, including in relation to its operations in the Antofagasta region of Chile: https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/chile-legal-action-against-albemarle-antofagasta-and-bhp-for-alleged-environmental-damage-in-salar-de-atacama/

The Escondida copper mine, owned by BHP, is located near the territories of Indigenous peoples in the region of Antofagasta, in northern Chile. As reported by Mongabay, a lawsuit was filed against the company by the Council of Atacameño Peoples, an Indigenous association that represents 18 communities of the Lickanantay people, which means “the inhabitants of the territory” in the local language.

The Council of Atacameño Peoples (CPA) was created to preserve the territories of the Atacama communities and ensure the well-being of the people who live there. The council thus found it necessary to inspect the impacts of mining activity that occur in the area, also home to fragile ecosystems and endangered species.

More information about the lawsuit is available at this link: https://news.mongabay.com/2024/10/chilean-indigenous-association-participates-in-key-study-for-lawsuit-against-mining/

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated on the company's website (translated with DeepL.com), Aster [is] the first startup accelerator in the Antofagasta Region, was created in 2021 thanks to a public-private partnership between the Regional Government of Antofagasta, the Antofagasta Corfo Committee and Escondida | BHP, the world's largest copper deposit.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - BHP Billiton Ltd Undisclosed Mining

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

No contacts available at the time of disclosure

 

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF IADB

The Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism (MICI) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) or Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC)-funded project. If you submit a complaint to MICI, they may assist you in addressing the problems you raised through a dispute-resolution process with those implementing the project and/or through an investigation to assess whether the IDB or IIC is following its own policies for preventing or mitigating harm to people or the environment. You can submit a complaint by sending an email to MICI@iadb.org. You can learn more about the MICI and how to file a complaint at http://www.iadb.org/en/mici/mici,1752.html (in English) or http://www.iadb.org/es/mici/mici,1752.html (Spanish).

How it works

How it works