The Business Innovation and Investment Programme, or BIIP, could go a long way towards helping regional businesses play their part in helping to save the environment and snuff out illegal wildlife trade during COVID-19.
Organisations such as Wildlife Drones is just one example of a regional startup contributing to the fight for the environment and specifically of protecting species, taking into account habitat loss and preventing wildlife trade, by developing a radio-tracking drone system that gives the real-time locations of multiple animals at once.
An example of this is with the pangolin, the world’s most trafficked animal, which Wildlife Drones are helping to protect. It is also believed that the pangolin may be a key connecting link in the transmission of the virus from bats to humans.
Wildlife Drones is an organisation that regularly works with the likes of Save Vietnam’s Wildlife to help track and save all these species, but in light of the pandemic, many projects of the sort have been pushed aside for many reasons, one key one being funding.
”Many regional companies and startups that grow from venture capital investment will be forced to close their doors without an injection of new capital,” said Executive Chairman of Atlas Advisors Australia, Guy Hedley.
But that may soon change if the BIIP is to be reformed as it would see organisations like Wildlife Drones receive the boost that they’d need to survive through COVID-19. If the regional venture capital investment category is indeed created, then support for these businesses could go up to $1 million.
“This could support and strengthen organisations like Wildlife Drones to create new and innovative products and services that protect native wildlife and conserve our fragile environment for the future,”
added Mr Hedley
