After the success of the 3rd Eco Invest Brazil Auction, the 4th edition aims to attract private investment in bioeconomy and sustainable tourism in the Amazon

On December 05, 2025, the Department of the Brazilian Treasury (“STN”) and the Ministry of Finance (“MF”) issued STN/MF Ordinance No. 3,103/2025, which regulates the Eco Invest Brazil Auction No. 4/2025. The purpose of Auction No. 4/2025 is to mobilize domestic and foreign private capital for sustainable projects in the bioeconomy, sustainable tourism, and infrastructure sectors (including enabling^[1], waterway, and port infrastructure), with a focus on fostering development in the Legal Amazon region^[2].

STN/MF Ordinance No. 3,103/2025 establishes the rules and conditions for the participation of financial institutions seeking to access funds under Auction No. 4/2025, as well as the eligible activities, geographic scope, and final beneficiaries.

How does the Eco Invest Brazil program work?

Established by Law No. 14,995, of October 10, 2024, and regulated by MF Ordinance No. 964, of June 11, 2024, Eco Invest Brazil is a pioneering initiative of the Brazilian National Treasury, aimed at creating structural conditions for foreign private investment and leveraging capital for long‑term, sustainable projects in Brazil.

With the program, financial institutions can obtain catalytic funds raised by the Climate Fund through on‑lending transactions. These funds are leveraged by the financial institutions, which invest the catalytic capital together with private funds disbursed or mobilized by them.

Access by financial institutions to Eco Invest’s catalytic capital occurs through auctions conducted by the STN, whose main selection criterion is the leverage ratio of the funds offered by the participating financial institutions. Each auction held required participating institutions to raise a minimum percentage of funding from the international market. 

The 1st Eco Invest Auction, held on July 11, 2024, sought to promote a broad range of ecological transition projects and was not targeted at specific sectors or regions. The 2nd Auction focused on financing projects to restore degraded lands. The 3rd Auction, in turn, was aimed at fostering equity investments in ecological transition projects in specific areas within the energy transition, bioeconomy, circular economy, and adaptation infrastructure sectors.

Characteristics of Auction No. 4/2025

The activities eligible for Auction No. 4/2025 encompass, in general terms, the following sectors:

Auction No. 4/2025 will focus on channeling funds to the Amazon region, such that:

(a) Activities involving the Infrastructure axis can only be financed when fully located within the Legal Amazon; and

(b) At least 25% of the funds raised under the Bioeconomy or Sustainable Tourism axes must be allocated to projects located in the Legal Amazon. The objective is to promote productive inclusion, income generation, and territorial development, to support small producers, extractivists, traditional communities, cooperatives, and other agents eligible to access the program’s funds.

In the 4th Auction, each financial institution can request an additional tranche of funds – equivalent to 20% of the amount of funds sought – intended exclusively for the implementation of incentive mechanisms that:

(a) Mitigate performance, credit, or operational risks;

(b) Increase the financial viability of supported projects;

(c) Contribute to reducing financing access barriers; and

(d) Promote the structuring conditions necessary for the development of eligible sectors.

The use of funds under this additional line must comply with the limits, conditions, and purposes established in the ordinance and in the Operational Manual to be published.

Below, we highlight the participation requirements applicable to this auction, in addition to those established in the Eco Invest Brazil legislation:

Final beneficiaries under Auction No. 4/2025 can access the funds raised by the financial institutions either directly or through aggregators, including anchor companies, investment funds, cooperatives, nonprofit organizations, and other agents capable of organizing production and generating scale efficiencies, standardization, or market access. In addition, financial institutions can establish partnerships with companies, entities, or organizations operating in the bio-economy, tourism, enabling infrastructure, and associated value chains. Those institutions can participate in transactions as intervening parties or supporters by providing technical assistance, sharing risks, or providing direct or indirect benefits to project implementation.

Check the eligible final beneficiaries of the investments:

Fostering productive value chains

Continuing a trend observed since the 2nd Auction, the 4th Eco Invest Auction introduces incentives for financial institutions to design support structures that prioritize the development of productive value chains – rather than focusing solely on a single final beneficiary –, including the incorporation of so‑called anchor companies into the financing structures.

In the 4th Auction, any financial institution that demonstrates, within a 24‑month period, that at least 20% of the total investment amount (as referred to in Article 12) is allocated to a productive value chain integration plan will be entitled to an additional one‑year grace period under the financing line.

Deadline for submission

Proposals must be submitted along with pre-allocation reports to the STN by 6 p.m. (BRT) on February 25, 2026, to leilaoecoinvest@tesouro.gov.br. The selection results will be ratified within 20 days after the submission deadline and will be published on the National Treasury’s website, on the Eco Invest Brazil page, within 20 days after the end of the ratification period.

More information about the auction will be published in the Operational Manual for the 4th Eco Invest Auction.

Demarest’s Capital Markets, Investment Funds and Asset Management, Tax, and Infrastructure and Project Finance teams are monitoring the topic and remain available to provide any clarifications that may be necessary.

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[¹] a) Distributed renewable energy generation projects in isolated communities; b) Expansion of digital connectivity in rural areas and remote communities; c) Implementation and modernization of processing, beneficiation, and storage units for bioeconomy products; d) Water supply, sewage collection and treatment, and stormwater management solutions through nature‑based systems; e) Solid waste management; and f) Sustainable local mobility infrastructure.

[²] Political‑administrative delimitation encompassing the states of Acre, Amapá, Amazonas, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, and a portion of Maranhão. The Operational Manual for Auction No. 4/2025 will detail the geographic boundaries of the Legal Amazon, the eligibility conditions, territorial proof requirements, and verification criteria necessary for complying with the provisions applicable to the implementation of the eligible activities.

[³] a) Sustainable community-based productive systems involving low-impact family farming, small-scale extractivism, agroecology, and integrated production carried out by cooperatives, traditional communities, and Indigenous peoples, including units for processing, storage, drying, and primary transformation; b) Sustainable fishing and aquaculture; and c) Production and processing, including handicraft chains, community production centers, and shared processing platforms.