Bhubaneshwar: Climate Launch pad Odisha, the world’s largest green business ideas competition, launched the inaugural edition of its climate and cleantech startup accelerator in the state in an effort to solve climate and environmental problems through entreprenuership. The programme is part of the entrepreneurship offerings by EIT Climate-KIC, the European Union’s innovation program for climate change, supported in the state by Startup Odisha, KIIT-TBI and the Climate Collective Foundation.
ClimateLaunchpad is set up to help aspiring entrepreneurs grow their cleantech ideas into global businesses. We welcome innovations in renewable energy, energy efficiency, food and agriculture, water, transportation, industrial technology or any other way to tackle climate change.
Frans Nauta, ClimateLaunchpad founder: “A green business school in disguise, that is how former participants refer to our competition. We train people with green ideas to become successful entrepreneurs. Since the start in 2014 we already helped 1,500 teams on their way with setting up their global businesses. This year we will run the programme in at least 50 countries. We know climate change is solvable. We also know there will not be one single cure, we need – and there will be – thousands of big and small cures. That is why it is our mission to fix climate change, one start-up at a time.”
In all participating states in India, selected participants start off their rigorous training with an intensive 2-day Boot Camp. The Boot Camp is followed by intensive coaching sessions, leading up a participation in one of the Regional Finals in September or October. The top startup in each state will battle, along with startups from all 50+ countries, at the Global Grand Final in November 2019.
The world’s top-10 best ideas win access to a regional accelerator program. The overall winner of the Global Grand Final also receives a cash prize of €10,000, the runner up gets €5,000 and the team that comes in third place wins €2,500.
ClimateLaunchpad is part of the Entrepreneurship offerings of EIT Climate-KIC, the EU’s main climate innovation initiative.
“I have seen unbelievable talent and entrepreneurship throughout India in startups that are developing and launching products and solutions that solve our important environmental problems through creating value for paying customers.” – Pratap Raju, Founder, Climate Collective Foundation.
The Climate Collective Foundation runs the ClimateLaunchpad program throughout India. Last year, the Collective ran 5 state programs, accelerating 45 climate and cleantech startups. In Scotland of last year, three Indian startups made it to the Round of 16 out of 130 finalists from 44 courntires.
The program was supported generously by StartupOdisha, whose presence at the launch helped provide comfort to all the startups that there indeed is support from the state government to make sure we develop a healthy and sustainable climate and cleantech startup ecosystem said Sanjukta Badhai, COO, KIIT-TBI, the local partner for ClimateLaunchpad India-Odisha Bootcamp.
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