· The initiative transforms tons of coffee grounds from the hospitality sector into natural biocides and livestock feed
· During the EU Delegation Info Session in Venezuela, Juanma Revuelta (CEO of Finnova) offered to transfer this technology to accelerate the ecological transition in the region
· The virtual meeting brought together representatives from universities, NGOs, SMEs, and research centers
Brussels / Caracas, April 15, 2026. The Finnova Foundation participated in the "Orientation Session for Submitting Proposals to EU Calls," a virtual event organized by the Delegation of the European Union to Venezuela. During the session held yesterday, Tuesday, April 14, Juanma Revuelta, CEO of Finnova, and Juan Viesca, Director of European Funds, presented the success story of the ECOFFEE project, a consortium funded by the Horizon Europe program that is revolutionizing waste management in the coffee value chain.
The ECOFFEE project demonstrates that it is possible to implement a profitable circular economy model in the HORECA (Hotels, Restaurants, and Cafes) sector. Through a reverse logistics system developed by the Basque entity Euskovazza, used coffee grounds are collected and transformed into two high value-added products: natural biocides formulated by the company FumiHogar—which act as eco-friendly insecticides that are harmless to pollinators like bees—and proteins for livestock feed, validated by the technology center AZTI.
Technological transfer to Latin America
During his speech, Juanma Revuelta highlighted the enormous potential of applying these European-validated solutions directly in coffee-producing and consuming countries like Venezuela.
"Imagine a hotel coffee shop. What happens to all that leftover coffee? It’s thousands of tons," explained Revuelta during his presentation. "This is very new in Europe. What can you do in Latin America? You can skip the technological maturation time. If anyone is interested, we can put them in contact with the consortium companies to transfer this innovation," added the CEO of Finnova, making an appeal to local coffee shops and businesses to take advantage of these synergies.
Training sessions and access to resources
The intervention was part of an intensive EU program aimed at training Venezuelan stakeholders on how to access funding programs such as AL-INVEST Verde, Erasmus+, or Interreg. The live training continues today, Wednesday, April 15, at 9:00 AM (Venezuela Time) / 3:00 PM (CET).
Multimedia Resources:
· Clip of Juanma Revuelta's intervention: Video here
· Full session recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQ80ZtqekNM
About the ECOFFEE project
The ECOFFEE project has a budget of €256,451.25, co-funded by the European Union through the Horizon Europe program. Its objective is to demonstrate a comprehensive model for the valorization of coffee grounds through innovative technologies and digital traceability systems. The project consortium is made up of AZTI, Euskovazza, FUMIHOGAR, and the Finnova Foundation, working together to promote sustainable and replicable solutions in the agri-food value chain.
More information: https://ecoffeeproject.eu/