Climate innovation incubator strategies

Very excited to share my most recent article in Forbes, focusing on the role of philanthropy in supporting climate innovation in emerging markets. Over the past few weeks, our team has had some great conversations with foundations and other partners who are supporting climate entrepreneurs in the some of the most vulnerable countries. Philanthropy is uniquely positioned to play a role here, but we need a wider aperture in terms of what it can and should do. The article proposes five areas where philanthropy can take on a wider agenda to not just fund more climate startups in these markets, but to build the talent pools and enabling ecosystems that support these companies. Here's a breakdown of the five areas: 1. New company building models: We don’t need just more climate entrepreneurship and innovation in developing countries, but we need it to be targeted at solving the most pressing problems. Purpose-built platforms - venture studios and builder models - can incubate startups with greater intentionality, offering technical capacity, market access, and tailored support that meet local needs. 2. Build fractional leadership networks: As much as more funding is needed to support climate startups in their early stages, matching them with the right talent at the right time can be critical. And there’s no guarantee that this talent is locally available. We need specialized programs that can match seasoned leadership - e.g. fractional CFOs, CMOs, and other C-level executives along with technical experts - who can provide critical guidance, strategic discipline, and credibility, making ventures more investment-ready and sustainable. 3. Ecosystem enablers and hubs: Climate tech benefits from enabling ecosystems, which often entail complex networks of universities giving birth to ideas, funds financing the development of prototypes, executive talent coming in from the corporate world and policymakers assessing how to incentivize the adoption of climate technologies. 4. Create linkages between emerging markets: Most funding, technology and talent transfer in climate tech tends to be concentrated between wealthy countries, but there are opportunities to strengthen ties between emerging markets themselves. Creating networks between regions fosters peer learning, market entry, and collaboration. 5. Prioritize adaptation and resilience: Often, adaptation and resilience (A&R) risks are the primary ways in which emerging markets first and foremost experience climate change. Increasing finance, company building and entrepreneurship support for A&R - health, disaster resilience, agriculture, and water - reflects the acute realities on the ground and brings direct benefits to vulnerable communities.

Last week I caught up with some of our climatetech founders and the Wavemaker Impact team in Singapore. It reminded me how much Europe could learn from the pace, creativity, hunger and grit of emerging markets when it comes to building climate solutions. In South Asia, you don’t have the luxury of slow progress or “pilot purgatory.” Climate impacts hit hard and fast, so the innovation mindset is lean, practical and deeply connected to livelihoods. 1. The Green Discount Forget moonshots and massive R&D budgets. Across South Asia, founders are building cleaner and cheaper solutions that work now: modular, low-capex climatetech with real unit economics from day one, like turning waste into biofuel (Octayne) or agricultural residues into biochar (WasteX) while improving customer margins. ✅ Lesson for Europe: Move beyond the “green premium.” We don’t always need new tech; we need to deploy what already works, faster and at scale. 2. Decentralised Energy and Leapfrogging Like Africa skipped landlines to go mobile, South Asia is leapfrogging traditional grids with off-grid solar, microgrids and batteries replacing diesel, from Agros to Helios Solar Company Limited and SOLshare. ✅ Lesson for Europe: Distributed renewable energy isn’t just cleaner; it’s more resilient. Energy security in wartime or flood season may depend on it. 3. Nature-Based and Community-Led Solutions After decades of deforestation and degraded land, pioneering models are fighting back through community reforestation, mangrove restoration and regenerative agriculture. Ventures like Bumi Baru and Fair Ventures Social Forestry make nature profitable by working with local populations. ✅ Lesson for Europe: Climate action sticks when people have skin in the game. Build with communities, not just for them. 4. The Just Green Transition In emerging markets, climate isn’t a distant moral issue; it’s a development and equity issue. Policy conversations link emissions to jobs, food and public health. When clean tech creates livelihoods, people back the transition. ✅ Lesson for Europe: Embed justice, inclusion and affordability at the heart of the transition, not as an afterthought. 5. Adaptation and Resilience South Asia is among the most vulnerable regions to climate change and has no choice but to adapt: flood defences, early-warning systems, better weather data and climate-resilient crops. Ventures like Rize and Intensel Limited prove that resilience and profitability can coexist. ✅ Lesson for Europe: Don’t just decarbonise, adapt. Resilience is also an investment class. After more than two decades building start-ups across Asia, I’ve seen how constraint breeds creativity and urgency drives focus. Europe has the capital, talent and technology. Maybe it also needs a bit more of that emerging-market scrappiness and hunger. Because the truth is, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We just need to roll it faster. 🌍💚

Here are three ways that corporates can help speed up the availability of new climate solutions:   🚦 Collaborate with industry to send demand signals to de-risk new climate solutions. Developing new solutions involves a lot of R&D and risk - mostly, what's the market for this? Large companies can help de-risk that initial investment for startups and companies by creating a readied market of purchasers through Advanced Market Commitments and purchasing coalitions that say "we're committed to buying X when it's available." There are already nearly a dozen AMCs organized around different climate solution areas, including aluminum, concrete, steel, and more, organized by groups like First Movers Coalition and Climate Group.   🚀 Catalyze new and existing climate innovators by bringing them into value chain challenges. Instead of developing new solutions in-house, it can sometimes be better to bring in existing startups to work closely with business units. Support can include pilot funding, physical resources, networks, and access to expertise in addressing value chain challenges at scale. This could be done in collaboration, like 100+ Accelerator, through sponsored accelerators with groups like MIT Solve (e.g. Amazon's Devices Climate Tech Accelerator), or as an open innovation challenge with partners like IDEO. Not only does this bring early ideas to market quicker, it also sends a demand signal to VCs and other innovators that the need for solutions is real.   💸 Align venture capital investments and advocacy efforts with existing climate objectives. Many large companies have some kind of corporate venture capital arm that invests corporate funds into early-stage startups. That existing mechanism can be incredibly powerful when aligned with climate objectives. Often times the investment can help address the company's own climate-related solution gap, but also presents larger financial return opportunities for other companies in need of that solution now and in the future. That investment can also speed up the scale of early-stage ideas and get them to market quicker, in-part because of the growth capital invested.   The reality is that companies cannot achieve success in climate innovation alone. Climate innovation requires a robust ecosystem that shares risks and fosters collaboration, involving investors, governments, universities, startups, and more. Companies must actively engage in that ecosystem in order for us to bring new climate solutions to market at speed and scale.   Pages below are from the latest Unlocking Corporate Climate Innovation report, found here: https://lnkd.in/esVc8Ykr

💸 Funding & Grants Series  Climate Incubators & Accelerators Supporting Indian Startups Every time I connect with founders through Bharat Climate Startups, I’m reminded of the one thing that makes or breaks an early-stage climate solution: ecosystem support. From regenerative agriculture to green mobility and plastic alternatives — startups need more than ideas. They need partners, labs, grants, and believers. This post features 5 climate-focused incubators and accelerators in India that offer grants, pilot funding, or non-dilutive support to help climate founders grow.👇 🔹  SINE (Society for Innovation & Entrepreneurship -SINE IIT Bombay and Entrepreneurship) – IIT Bombay 💰 Provides non-dilutive grants and robust incubation support for technology-driven startups, including those in cleantech and climate tech. 📌 SINE’s focus on commercialization and innovation helps transform early ideas into impactful ventures. 🔹 NSRCEL – IIM Bangalore 💰 Supports social and technology startups with incubator programs that include grants, mentorship, and ecosystem access—ideal for climate innovators. 📌 NSRCEL’s extensive network and tailored support have helped many founders accelerate their impact. 🔹 T-Hub –Hyderabad  💰 An accelerator that runs specialized cohorts—including sustainability and climate tech tracks—with grants, pilot funding, and hands-on support. 📌 T-Hub’s dynamic environment connects startups to investors, mentors, and corporate partners. 🔹 Climate Collective – Climate Launchpad & Climate Ready Programs 💰 Grants, pre-seed support & founder mentorship 📌 Focused on cleantech, carbon markets, climate fintech, nature-based solutions 🌱 Supported by European Union, Asian Development Bank, and global partners 📩 Working on a climate solution and exploring incubator or accelerator programs? Drop me a message—I’d love to connect and share insights from my travels across India. Here's to building a vibrant support ecosystem for climate innovators! 💚 #ClimateAction #ImpactFunding #BharatClimateStartups

Can Abu Dhabi become the hub of climate innovation in the UAE, and the region? A new report by PwC Middle East, with Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week - ADSW, Global Climate Finance Centre, UAE Independent Climate Change Accelerators, and Hub71, looks at how the Emirate can bridge the “deployment gap” in climate-deep tech. Climate-tech startups face three big hurdles: 📌Costly and limited piloting infrastructure 📌High capital needs with little de-risking 📌Fragmented regulations The report outlines key recommendations on how Abu Dhabi can lead: ➡️ Create dedicated climate-tech zones in KEZAD/Masdar City for example. ➡️ Expand Hub71 + ClimateTech as the central entry point for startups. ➡️ Strengthen lab-to-pilot partnerships with universities ➡️ Mobilise capital through blended finance and de-risking mechanisms ➡️ Drive early demand by embedding procurement guarantees and challenge-driven purchasing ➡️ Establish a unified governance model with clear regulatory pathways What I like about these recommendations is that they are concrete and tackle the full spectrum of hurdles startups encounter. Personally, I believe Abu Dhabi is best placed to become the region’s flagship Climate Innovation Hub, and set a global benchmark for scaling climate solutions. Do you see Abu Dhabi leading this transformation? If you’d like to dive deeper, I’ve shared the report link in the comments. #ClimateInnovation #ClimateTech #Sustainability #UAE #ImpactEntrepreneurship #AbuDhabi