World Bank Group Innovate4Climate (I4C) Pitch Hub Competition 2020 for Innovators (Funded to pitch in Barcelona)

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.