Call for Applications: Innovative Tech for Water Security

The goal is to build the body of evidence around how innovative technology can increase climate resilience for the most vulnerable.

Focus Areas

• They will select first-of-a-kind solutions that address one or more of the following:
  • Increasing water supply. For example, solutions around rainwater harvesting, desalination, recycling/wastewater, water reuse, or boreholes.
  • Optimizing water usage/demand. For example, smart irrigation, nature-based water conservation systems, or water efficiency tools.
  • Strengthening infrastructure. For example, storage, treatment, reducing losses in the network

Funding Information

• The funding will be in the form of an equity-free grant to be used for the proposed pilot. The Climate Venture Lob will closely oversee the monetary usage of the grant and only disburse funding based on milestone achievement. Milestone-based payments will be dependent on the startup delivering proof that mutually agreed milestones/targets have been completed/achieved. Applicants are expected to submit and justify their budget for the pilot to be funded (using the Fund’s provided budget template). The amount requested can be any amount up to USD 50,000. The duration of the grant-funded pilots can be up to 12 months.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible to apply, applicants must meet the following criteria:
  • Be a startup or organization with first-of-a-kind tech solutions for water security for underserved users in at least one eligible country.
  • Have active users and revenue in at least one eligible country.
  • Be an entity registered and operating in the country of pilot implementation (whether domestic or internationally-owned or a joint venture). In cases where responsibility for service delivery lies with a downstream partner, rather than the applicant (for example service delivery by a local government), it may be acceptable for the applicant to be registered in a country other than that of pilot implementation.
  • Be fully compliant with relevant business licensing, taxation, employee and other regulations in all applicable countries of grant pilot operation.
  • Be registered and have a bank account in the country where they will receive the grant money (if not the same as the pilot implementation country).
  • Be an eligible entity and demonstrate thot a majority of their income is derived from commercial activities. Early-stage companies who have not reached this threshold will need to demonstrate a reliable path to sustainability via commercial activities that generate revenue to be considered.
  • The applicant (startup) must commit significant resources to demonstrate commitment and signal the strategic importance of the pilot opportunity. This should include skin-in-the-game through financial resources and/or management resources.
  • Only one organization can apply for funding and become a pilot delivery partner. Applicants are encouraged to have downstream partners to support implementation. In the case of government entities being grant pilot partners, they cannot be a sub-recipient of the grant.
• During the selection process, they will also ensure eligible applicants are/have:
  • Adequate financial systems, to report regularly to the Climate Venture Lab, providing evidence of funding and share an external audit from the most recent financial year (if available).
  • A bank account to receive payments.
  • Adequate internal human resource capability to implement the proposed pilot and comply with the Fund’s reporting requirements within the pre-agreed time frame.
  • Able to demonstrate the potential and drive to form strategic partnerships with other technology organizations.
  • A plan for long-term sustainability and societal impact beyond the lifespan of the grant (such as through user uptake, business model, financial viability, or follow-on funding, etc.) and demonstrate that there is further potential for scale or replication.
  • Applicants may need to demonstrate how they are compliant with all applicable laws and regulations across markets of operations.
• They particularly encourage the following applicants to apply:
  • Female rounders, and applicants with representation of women at all levels of the organization.
  • Entrepreneurs local to the market in which they’re operating, and applicants with representation of local talent at all levels of the organization.
  • Applicants who have partnerships with relevant local stakeholders (e.g. community-based organizations) to deliver the pilot directly to users/participants.
  • Applicants who demonstrate that their user base is over 50% female.
  • Applicants who have a clear understanding of how their solution improves financial inclusion of low-income and/or un/underbanked communities and have proactively taken steps to set targets and systematically measure these impacts.

Ineligibility Criteria

• The following organizations are not eligible for grants, although they strongly encourage partnerships with these entities as part of the application:
  • Governments, government-owned agencies. or appointed government agencies.
  • Universities or academic organizations.
  • Accelerators and incubators.

For more information, visit Mercy Corps Ventures.