Deadline: March 1, 2020
Applications are open for the World Bank Group Innovate4Climate (I4C) Pitch Hub Competition 2020 for Innovators. The annual Pitch Hub competition for innovators showcases ingenuity, entrepreneurship, and a clear value proposition. The competition aims at engaging startups and entrepreneurs and to create a space for innovate at I4C.
The objectives of the competition are to highlight climate-smart solutions with potential for transformative impact in reducing emissions and/or increasing resilience to climate change and facilitate matchmaking between investors and investment opportunities.
The Challenge
55% of the world’s population lives in urban areas, a proportion that is expected to increase to 70% by 2050. Cities account for just 2% of global land area but are responsible for 70% of greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, as much as 80% of adaptation costs are expected to be borne in urban areas.
Supporting climate-smart cities – those that are low-carbon and climate resilient – is a critical part of addressing climate change. Becoming a climate smart city requires an integrated approach combining planning, policy, regulation, and investment.
Focus Areas
The competition focuses on the following areas:
- Energy
- Food/Agriculture
- Mobility/Transportation
- Waste/Water
- Fintech
Benefits
The following benefits are available to winners:
- A prize of US$ 50,000 worth of Amazon Web Services (AWS) credits
- Registration and Travel & Accommodation to take part in I4C
- Coaching & Training
- Startup Bootcamp
- Access to Investors
- Networking, access to events, exposure, and visibility
Eligbility
- Open to innovators with climate-smart solutions with potential for transformative impact in reducing emissions and/or increasing resilience to climate change.
Evaluation Criteria
- Minimal Viable Product Stage: Solutions can be goods, services (e.g. financial instruments, risk management mechanisms), technological solutions, or innovative business models that can be applied in one of the urban focus areas defined above.
- Climate-smart: Potential for climate change mitigation or adaptation
- Feasible: Clear value proposition, actionable business model, preliminary market analysis, draft implementation plan
- Implementable: Potential to achieve market viability and deployment capacity
- Scalable: Potential to be scaled-up or replicated in other contexts
Application
Register to enter the competition
For more information, visit Pitch Hub Competition.