The European Investment Bank, through EIB Global and ADOPEM, a Dominican financial institution serving entrepreneurs and smaller businesses, have signed a €4.5 million financing agreement to support sargassum projects in the Dominican Republic. The loan is backed by the European Commission EFSD+ guarantee and remains subject to approval by the country’s Superintendency of Banks. The agreement was announced in Cancún, Mexico, on October 5, 2026.
A further €1.1 million in European Commission technical assistance, supported by EIB Advisory, takes the Team Europe package to €5.6 million. The financing is meant for businesses with fewer than 10 employees and for small and medium sized enterprises, particularly those that collect, transport and safely store sargassum. By channelling the money through ADOPEM, the parties aim to give smaller businesses, which often struggle to access credit, a route to longer term finance. The technical assistance will help ADOPEM and prospective borrowers prepare financeable projects, develop tailored financing solutions and strengthen environmental safeguards and compliance.
The package supports the Global Gateway flagship initiative “Turning the Tide”, which brings together the European Union, Caribbean governments, development finance institutions, researchers and businesses. It forms part of a regional ambition to collect 660,000 tonnes of sargassum by 2027, including 150,000 tonnes in the Dominican Republic. The advisory work also builds on a value chain study commissioned by the EIB, financed by Luxembourg through the Financial Inclusion Fund and presented to Dominican institutions in June 2025.
EIB Vice-President Ioannis Tsakiris said sargassum is a serious problem for Caribbean communities but can also create sustainable business opportunities if the right financing, expertise and safeguards are in place.
“Sargassum is a major challenge for Caribbean communities, but with the right financing, expertise and safeguards it can also generate sustainable business opportunities. By combining finance and technical expertise with the support of the European Commission and ADOPEM, we can help local entrepreneurs develop viable solutions, create jobs and strengthen the resilience of coastal communities. This is Global Gateway and Team Europe in action,” Tsakiris said.
European Commissioner for International Partnerships Jozef Síkela described record sargassum influxes as a threat to coastal livelihoods and said the EU wants to help local businesses turn the problem into an economic opportunity.
“Record influxes of sargassum are threatening coastal communities and livelihoods across the Caribbean. Through Global Gateway, the EU is working with ADOPEM to support local businesses to turn this growing challenge into an economic opportunity. By giving entrepreneurs in the Dominican Republic access to finance and expertise, we are supporting the transformation of this natural challenge into a valuable resource, creating local jobs and building more resilient coastal communities,” Síkela said.
Mercedes Canalda de Beras Goico, President of Banco ADOPEM, said the bank’s commitment to inclusive entrepreneurship is behind the partnership and that it will let ADOPEM support local businesses with both money and knowledge.
“ADOPEM has a deep commitment to inclusive entrepreneurship and to the communities we serve across the Dominican Republic. This partnership will allow us to accompany local businesses with financing and knowledge so that they can respond to the sargassum challenge responsibly, grow their activities and create new sources of income in coastal areas,” she said.
For small collectors and transporters, access to longer term credit could make it easier to build up their operations in a sector with few established borrowers. For the EIB and the Commission, lending through a local institution is a way to reach businesses too small to finance directly, though supervisory approval is still pending and the announcement gives no timeline for first disbursements.
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What stands out is the structure, with a development bank lending through a local institution and pairing the funds with help in preparing bankable projects, rather than financing an unproven sector directly. How well it works will depend on how many viable sargassum businesses ADOPEM can find and how quickly the supervisor’s approval comes through.
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