On Thursday February 9^th, 2022, Guatemala’s UND Resident Representative, Ana María Díaz, along with the Accelerator Lab team, Paola Constantino, Carlos Mazariegos, and Javier brolo met with the Business Officer of Qatar’s Embassy in el Salvador, Tariq Al Othman, and his team Jenny Iglesias and Martha Rivera via Zoom.

During the exchange, the Accelerator Lab Team share some results from its work in 2021, highlighting contributions to improve waste management through grassroot solutions, new types of data, innovative methodologies, and in alliance with public institutions, private sector, civil society, and the Accelerator Lab Global network. Also, that its work will continue in 2022 in the context of the executive agreement 164-2021, focusing on the promotion of waste management practices and strengthening the capacity to monitor its implementation.

Mr. Othman reassured their interest to support the work of the Accelerator Lab in Guatemala, and the importance of addressing waste management. He also shared insights based on Qatar’s experience regarding the importance of considering the economic opportunities of making value from waste by aligning the incentives from regulation, private sector, and society. UNDP Guatemala and Qatar hope to increase the frequency of this exchanges during the year.