Since 2017, an important network in the region of the Cocoa Coast has been developing an agenda based on integrated, sustainable growth: the construction of the “Sul da Bahia Global” (Global South of Bahia) Regional Development Agency. The project is the result of a partnership with Sebrae in Ilhéus, which has mobilized the main actors in six municipalities to identify actions and the four fronts which should be prioritized in the medium and long terms: economy, environment and landscape, infrastructure and education. This mobilization also resulted in the formatting of “Sul da Bahia Global” governance, comprising representatives from academia, civil society, public authorities, trade associations and the business community. It was this representative group that opted to build a regional development agency as a strategy for implementing measures that will contribute to the socioeconomic development of the six municipalities. The model for the agency has been finalized and an exercise to map institutions and policies to support its construction and operation is underway.
