STORIES

Climate Launchpad Contest launches in Ghana- Fixing climate change one startup at a time!

For the first time ever, Ghana will be one of the over 50 countries across 5 continents taking part in the 2019 edition of ClimateLaunchpad– the world’s largest green business ideas competition.

Organized in collaboration with the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre, whose mandate is to develop and support entrepreneurs pioneering adaptive and mitigative solutions for climate change issues in Ghana, the ClimateLaunchpad is set up to help aspiring entrepreneurs grow their cleantech ideas into global businesses.

ClimateLaunchpad is a global green business ideas competition whose mission is to address the negative impacts of climate change by ways of innovation, invention and entrepreneurship. The competition supports aspiring and promising cleantech entrepreneurs with training, coaching and networking opportunities. ClimateLaunchpad was established in 2014 and is part of the Entrepreneurship offerings of EIT Climate-KIC.

From 27th March 2019 to 10th May 2019, innovators in Ghana with existing green businesses or budding entrepreneurs with green business ideas are encouraged to submit their applications here. Cleantech innovations ranging from renewable energy, energy efficiency, food and agriculture, water, transportation, industrial technology are eligible for qualification.

Shortlisted entrepreneurs will start off the rigorous training with an intensive 2-day Boot Camp in the first week of July. The Boot Camp is followed by intensive coaching sessions in July and August leading up to the National Final in September. The top 2 business ideas selected from Ghana will get a chance to battle it out at the Global Grand Final that will be held in Europe 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.

Do you have a green business idea? Bring it to life by joining the 2019 Climate Launchpad competition!

The Ghana Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC) is a pioneering business incubator whose objective is to support entrepreneurs and ventures involved in developing profitable and locally appropriate solutions to climate change mitigation and adaptation in Ghana. The Centre’s key focus is on building businesses operating within the areas of energy efficiency, domestic waste management, solar energy, water supply management and purification and climate-smart agriculture. GCIC is part of the World Bank Group’s infoDev Climate Technology Program. Supported by the governments of Denmark and the Netherlands, the Centre is managed by a consortium led by the Ashesi University and including Ernst & Young, SNV Ghana, and the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.