The federal government has formalized, through STN/MF Ordinance No. 3,013/2025, Eco Invest Brasil Auction No. 4/2025, creating a concrete window to combine catalytic public capital with private investment, foreign-exchange hedging, and incentive mechanisms aimed at ecological transformation. More than a mere auction, Eco Invest consolidates a blended finance architecture designed to prioritize the bioeconomy, sustainable tourism, and enabling infrastructure focused on the Legal Amazon. The deadline for submission of proposals is due by 6:00 p.m. on February 25, 2026, and applicants with mature projects, demonstrated execution capacity, and established value chains are likely to move first.
Who can participate and what the financial structure looks like
Under the official rules, only financial institutions authorized to operate by the Central Bank of Brazil may participate in the auction, submit bids, and be qualified, ranked, and awarded. This structure places the mobilization of private capital with the financial intermediary, with clear requirements: a minimum financial leverage of 4.0x and offshore fundraising accounting for at least 60% of the private capital mobilized. The institution assumes full credit and performance risk, enforces and verifies environmental and social safeguards throughout the lifecycle, and runs the monitoring, reporting, and verification system, with independent external audit and a second-party technical opinion. The transactions will be subject to a robust regulatory framework, including compliance with the regulations of the Central Bank of Brazil and the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM), as well as with applicable anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CTF) rules, integrity and compliance standards, suitabilityrequirements, fiduciary management obligations, and asset segregation principles. In practice, the Ordinance leverages the installed capacity and prudential governance of regulated institutions to structure transactions, manage risk, and evidence on-lending.
How allocation will work: competition on leverage, bioindustrialization, and foreign capital
Bids will be ordered by leverage bands. Within each band, ranking first considers the largest allocation to the bioindustrialization sector (excluding bioenergy and biofuels value chains) and, in the event of a tie, an impact index measuring the excess foreign capital mobilized above the 60% minimum. The minimum bid is R$100 million per bidder in each leverage index, and no single participant may concentrate more than 35% of the total across sublines at the end of the auction. The territorial commitment is explicit: at least 25% of total investments, combining catalytic and private capital, must go to projects in the Legal Amazon under the bioeconomy or sustainable tourism pillars, in compliance with the right of indigenous people and traditional communities; enabling infrastructure is Amazon-exclusive.
Disbursement rules and the role of the pipeline
Treasury disbursements to financial institutions occur in stages tied to the effective mobilization of private capital and verified on-lending to end beneficiaries. After award, 25% of the loan is released; a second tranche of 50% requires, within 12 months, mobilizing at least 25% of the planned private capital and disbursing to borrowers; the final tranche requires proof of 75% mobilization and on-lending. By 24 months, the agent must evidence on-lending of the total committed amount. Without a bidder able to raise funding, assemble portfolios, and document each disbursement milestone, the chain does not close.
“Eco Invest Brasil” funds: intermediation allowed, responsibility unchanged
The Ordinance allows intermediary vehicles, such as investment funds regulated by the CVM, which must include “Eco Invest Brasil” in their name, have a compatible policy, and reserve to the beneficiary financial institution political, intervention, and information rights until the line is fully repaid. In other words, resources may flow via direct credit or through funds, but always anchored in the awarded proposal and under the responsibility of a qualified financial institution, with full segregation and traceability of funds and audited reporting.
Eligibility criteria and safeguards: what projects must meet
The Ordinance details additional criteria by pillar and cross-cutting safeguards, aimed at the management of climate, social and environmental risks as an eligibility condition. In bioeconomy and restoration, an active and compliant Rural Environmental Registry (CAR) is required, as well as the absence of deforestation, even if authorized, since December 6, 2023, for the entire duration of the operation, with continuous verification by the financial institution. Projects in Indigenous territories or traditional communities require free, prior, and informed consultation; in Conservation Units, activities must be provided for in the management plan. In bioindustrialization, the use of genetic resources or biomass from annual crops such as sugarcane, soy, and corn is prohibited, and compliance, where applicable, with Law 13,123/2015 on access to genetic heritage and benefit-sharing is required, alongside mechanisms to ensure traceability of input origins.
There are binding sector allocation targets: at least 10% of the total to socio-bioeconomy and no more than 40% to productive restoration and timber and non-timber management. All projects must submit a Technical Implementation Plan with diagnostics, timeline, risk management, indicators, and MRV. Institutions have a two-year grace period and may extend it by up to 12 months if, within the defined timeframe, they prove that at least 20% of the portfolio has a Supply Chain Integration Plan supported by instruments such as offtake contracts or co-investment agreements.
Practical examples of eligibility by sector
In agribusiness and the socio-bioeconomy, eligible initiatives include agroforestry systems, seed and seedling nurseries, processing and storage units, sustainable fishing and aquaculture, and production of agricultural bio-inputs, subject to CAR requirements, no deforestation after 12/06/2023, and traceability.
In life sciences, eligible activities include the development and production of pharmaceutical bioactives and R&D and biotechnology platforms such as pilot plants, testing centers, biobanks and germplasm banks, and biomaterials, ensuring traceability, sustainable origin, and compliance with genetic heritage legislation where applicable.
In healthcare, the enabling infrastructure pillar in the Amazon includes floating modules for essential services such as health, digital connectivity in remote areas, and cold chains; under the bioeconomy pillar, inputs and bioactives for health, cosmetics, and personal care.
In food and beverages, opportunities include bio-based ingredients, supplements, and functional additives such as alternative proteins, probiotics, enzymes, natural flavors and colorants, in addition to processing and storage infrastructure for bioeconomy value chains, with traceable origin and compliance with Law 13,123/2015 when accessing genetic resources.
Why this matters for companies and value chains
For producers, cooperatives, SMEs, and companies with eligible projects, access will occur through transactions structured by banks and “Eco Invest Brasil” funds. Practically speaking, projects with technical maturity, licensing underway, defined traceability, and established integration or offtake contracts will be prioritized in allocation. Financial intermediation, paired with the requirement for foreign capital and robust verification of impacts and safeguards, aims at fostering an environment of scale, competition, environmental integrity, and international credibility for the Brazilian bioeconomy.
Next steps
With the Ordinance in force and the deadline set, companies and organizations active in the bioeconomy, sustainable tourism, and enabling infrastructure in the Amazon should assess their fit to the criteria, consolidate documentation, and structure technical plans and supply-chain integration plans. Access will depend on selecting qualified financial agents that can demonstrate the ability to mobilize private capital, including foreign, under the auction’s terms.
Would you like to receive a sectoral outline plus an eligibility and documentation checklist to assess your project under Ordinance 3,013/2025? Connect with us.