Nearly 150 of the world’s most promising green start-ups are set to compete in a contest designed to help fast-track their businesses.
ClimateLaunchpad, billed as the world’s largest green entrepreneur competition, is hosting the Global Grand Final in Amsterdam on 14 and 15 November. The aim is to identify businesses with the best potential to combat the global climate crisis.
The initiative, led by EIT Climate-KIC, Europe’s largest public-private partnership addressing climate change, seeks to develop innovations and unlock cleantech potential.
EIT Climate-KIC is part of the the UN Environment Programme and comprises leading scientists and global business leaders.
The competition supports aspiring cleantech entrepreneurs with training, coaching and networking opportunities.
Finalists for this year’s event include innovations in resilient soil, water purification, personal carbon footprint reduction technology, solar-powered refrigeration and new technology for accelerating climate finance.
This year’s global competition attracted a record number of 2,601 applications from cleantech entrepreneurs, from 53 countries. To select the finalists, a range of national finals took place earlier this year, enabling each country to select their top two companies to enter the grand final next week.
A number of ‘wild card’ winners were also selected by EIT Climate-KIC, resulting in a final list of 137 teams going forward to pitch in front of a jury of experts.
Finalists will be judged on feasibility, scalability, job creation and climate impact.
Commenting on the upcoming final, Dr. Kirsten Dunlop, CEO of EIT Climate-KIC, told us: “These 137 start-up teams, selected over 50 countries across the globe, represent the most promising innovations emerging from the cumulative efforts of many people in many places, guided to channel their ideas into a sense of agency and business creation for climate action.
“These innovations collectively will feed into a wider effort to transform systems and reach a net zero economy.”
She added, “The programme aims to provide a global stage to future green leaders and accelerate their journey. The participants are mentored for two months and have access to our large community of coaches and entrepreneurs.”
Dr Dunlop said, “I wish all participants every success and I look forward to working with them to transform our society into one which is regenerative, resilient and adaptable.”
The ClimateLaunchpad programme (funded by EIT Climate-KIC) consists of boot camps and intensive coaching to help participants refine and perfect their business model, value proposition and pitch.
In particular, EIT Climate-KIC aims to help cultivate a net-zero carbon economy. With over 380 formal partners in 26 countries, its mission is to catalyse systemic change for climate action through innovation in areas of human activity said to have the most critical impact on greenhouse gas emissions, including cities, lands, materials and finance.
The total level of investment benefiting start-ups supported by EIT Climate-KIC has now surpassed €1 billion.The full list of finalists is available on the ClimateLaunchpad website.
