South Asia: First-Ever Climate Startup Week Kicks Off Virtually

Climate Startup Week has just kicked off across South Asia, the biggest climate startup event that has taken place in the region. The week-long event is being held digitally, making it accessible to all despite the coronavirus pandemic, and will focus on climate and clean technology solutions across South Asia through virtual pitches, panels, talks and bootcamps. 

Taking place this week from September 7 to 12, Climate Startup Week will be jam packed with different events that aim to help foster and build an ecosystem of climate entrepreneurship in South Asia. There will be over 120 startups participating in this year’s Climate Startup Week, who will all be engaged in networking, roundtable discussions, pitch sessions and bootcamps, the first time such an event has taken place in the region. 

Among some of the topics that the roundtable discussions will centre on include the need for innovation and the changing landscape across India, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh, and engaging with the climate crisis from different perspectives from foundations and facilitators to policymakers and industry leaders. 

Other key sustainability topics such as working towards a circular economy to tackle waste and consumption, as well as women’s representation in the clean technology and green business sector, will also be covered over the course of the week. 

Some of the women-led startups that will feature in the Women Entrepreneur in Climate Showcase include Vapasee, a company that collects discarded materials and scraps from houses and converts them into usable home decor and utility, Ecoplore, an aggregator platform for ecologically responsible hotels, and Sanshodhan, a e-waste exchange data-forward tech solution to connect brands with authorised recyclers. 

One of the most exciting activities taking place as part of the Climate Startup Week is the region’s first ever climate startup jobs fair, which will be followed by the launch of the platform’s Climate Startup School, where participants are able to apply for a free trial. 

The organisers say that participants will additionally enjoy sneak peeks of upcoming and new programs that will be launched, giving them the first opportunity to know about exciting new innovations and climate solutions that are underway. 

To learn more about Climate Startup Week and register for the event, click here. 

Lead image courtesy of Pexels.