Call for Applications: Climate Innovation Fund (Bangladesh)

The Fund will identify and support Bangladesh based innovations with funding, advisory and mentorship support, as well as technical assistance to establish and scale.

The Climate Innovation Fund invites applications from enterprises, organisations, and individuals working to enhance climate resilience and adaptation in any of the areas of agriculture, food security, water security, and livelihoods.

Applications received will be assessed and selected for one of two distinct pathways of support:

• Venture building: For early-stage innovations that would benefit from in-depth mentoring and advisory support as well as funding.
• Growth funding: For more mature innovations that would benefit from larger funding and business development support.

Goals

• The Climate Innovation Fund aims to stimulate and drive innovation in climate resilience by:
  • identifying some of the most promising and innovative approaches to climate resilience in Bangladesh and supporting these solutions to establish and scale
  • building a strong and credible pipeline of initiatives and facilitating support from other agencies and investors
  • building opportunities for development and networking to facilitate learning

Funding Information

• Venture building:
  • Advisory & Mentorship programme: This includes hands-on guidance and mentorship over a period of six months from a team of technical and business experts who will help to enhance business models, develop valuable networks, and gain access to resources and funding.
  • Grant funding: Grants of up to a total of $15,000 for the duration of the Advisory & Mentorship programme will be paid on a monthly basis and tied to the achievement of set KPIs.
  • Further grant funding: Upon the successful completion of the advisory and mentorship programme, top performing enterprises will become eligible for up to $50,000 each to help scale their innovation. The funding will be disbursed in the form of performance-based grants and will be tied to pre-set KPIs. They will also receive Business Development Support services (in areas of Finance, IT, Administration and Procurement, HR, and Internal Audit / Compliance) on a need basis to ensure smooth operational functioning.
    • With this support, enterprises are expected to achieve:
    • Improved traction
    • Improved operational efficiency
    • Growth strategy
• Growth funding:
  • Selected enterprises will be eligible to receive grant funding of up to $80,000 each. This will be disbursed in tranches that will be tied to the achievement of pre-set KPIs.
  • Enterprises will also receive business development support during the funding period.
  • With this support, enterprises are expected to achieve:
    • Improved traction
    • Sustainable revenue growth
    • Robust operational processes

Eligibility Criteria

• From the applicant pool, the most promising innovations will be identified and supported. These could include:
  • Enterprises and other organisations that have tested innovations and are working towards financial sustainability but require funding and support to enhance their business models. These could include private limited companies, social enterprises, sole proprietorship entities, or NGOs.
  • Individuals that have well-defined innovations, are dedicated to developing and testing their ideas, and are determined to achieve financial sustainability.

Selection Process

• The application for the Climate Innovation Fund will involve three stages:
  • Concept note submission: Applicants are initially required to submit their concept note from which the most promising innovations will be selected. These shortlisted applicants will be contacted directly to submit a full proposal.
  • Full proposal submission: Shortlisted candidates will be requested to submit a full proposal and will also be required to undergo due diligence which includes, but is not limited to, interviews with founders, visits to operational sites or offices, sector expert assessment interviews, visits to evaluate the innovation, reviews of business plan and commercial viability.
  • Application review, selection and contracting: Upon successfully fulfilling the full submission requirements, applicants will receive an invitation to pitch to the Selection Committee comprising of investment and sector experts. The Committee will select the most promising applicants and make a recommendation of whether they should go through the Venture Building programme or directly receive Growth Funding.

For more information, visit British Asian Trust.