GSMA Innovation Fund // Applications Open for Climate-focused Startups

GSMA Innovation Fund for Climate Resilience and Adaptation is now accepting applications until 9th January. Apply and stand a chance to win an equity-free grant of between £100,000 and £250,000

African startups with solutions in the climate sector are invited to apply for the GSMA Innovation Fund for Climate Resilience and Adaptation, which aims to support digital innovations tackling challenges around climate change.

The GSMA Innovation Fund for Climate Resilience and Adaptation is the latest such fund run by the GSMA, after other focused offerings in 2018, 2019, 2020 and earlier this year.

This new Fund will help accelerate the testing, adoption and scalability of digital innovations that enable the world’s most vulnerable populations to adapt, anticipate and absorb the negative impacts of climate change.

Climate change is happening now, and it’s the most serious threat to life on our planet. Fortunately, there are plenty of solutions to climate change,  and they are well-understood.

In 2015, world leaders signed a major treaty called the Paris agreement, to put these solutions into practice.

Core to all climate change solutions is reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which must get to zero as soon as possible.

Because both forests and oceans play vitally important roles in regulating our climate, increasing the natural ability of forests and oceans to absorb carbon dioxide can also help stop global warming.

Globally the number of Climate tech startups also went up and these start-ups have raised more money in 2021 than in any year before—and nearly five times more than in 2016, just after the Paris climate agreement was signed.

This year, so far, climate-focused startups have raised $32 billion, according to a new report from Dealroom and London & Partners.

It is in line with this that GSMA is looking for start-ups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and social enterprises in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean, Latin America and Eastern Europe that leverage digital technology, particularly mobile, to deliver climate resilience and adaptation solutions to and with low-income and vulnerable populations.

The fund will support startups and small and growing enterprises that leverage digital technology, particularly mobile, to deliver climate resilience and adaptation solutions to and with low-income and vulnerable populations.

In partnership with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), GSMA will offer successful projects an equity-free grant of between £100,000 and £250,000 to scale their innovation over a 15 to 18 month period.

Other benefits include tailored technical assistance, facilitation of relationships with mobile operators and public sector organisations, and peer learning opportunities.

“Mobile and other digital technologies can help create a more resilient future, where communities not only survive climate shocks but thrive in spite of them. Building on our longstanding partnership with the GSMA, FCDO is delighted to support their newly launched fund, that will partner with startups and small and growing enterprises that are seeking to use digital and mobile technologies to ensure greater resilience and adaptation for low-income and vulnerable populations,” said Professor Charlotte Watts, chief scientific advisor and director for research and evidence at FCDO.

Applications for the fund are open here until January 9, 2022.

The GSMA is a new member of the Adaptation Research Alliance (ARA) – a global collaborative effort to increase investment and capacity for action-orientated research to support effective adaptation to climate change.

GSMA supports ARA’s best practice to find innovative and participative ways for incorporating the voice and views of local communities (such as through leveraging digital technology) as it empowers them to participate as equal partners in adaptation processes.

GSMA will also be holding webinars where they will share the objectives of the Fund, what makes a strong pitch application, eligibility criteria and more. You can register for the session as shared below.

• Webinar Time Zone 1: Tuesday 30 November, 07:00-08:00 UTC
• Webinar Time Zone 2: Tuesday 30 November, 14:00-15:00 UTC