The woman behind the mission to bring systemic sustainable enterprise to Pakistan 

Bridging the gap between corporate need and locally sourced potential  If there is one woman in Pakistan working relentlessly to encourage Pakistani public and private spaces to take a more integrated sustainability approach, it is Hira Wajahat. Hira is National Lead for ClimateLaunchpad and Programme Manager at consulting firm Stimulus. Her aim is to bring… Read more »

Australian green start-ups are fixing the climate crisis

This week, six years ago, ClimateLaunchpad saw its first light of day in this world. We have been growing ever since. Time to take a closer look at regional differences. What does it take to create impact with a cleantech start-up on one continent or the other? What stories can be shared from across the… Read more »

How the Nordic countries are tackling climate change

Our competition has been running on a global scale for several years in a row now. Being the curious lot we are, we figured it is time to take a closer look at regional differences. What does it take to create impact with a cleantech start-up on one continent or the other? What success stories… Read more »

How cleantech start-ups are dealing with the pandemic

We all feel the impact of the current situation. Regional differences aside we are all affected, all of our lives are affected and all economies are affected. We got in touch with two of our alumni to find out how they and their start-ups are dealing with COVID-19. Pedro Silva Humbert from ECO2Blocks (2018 global… Read more »

Pakistan brings corporates and start-ups together

Pakistan joined ClimateLaunchpad in 2019 and created a huge success with over a 100 applications by green start-ups from across all regions. Our National Partner Stimulus created quite a buzz around their National Finals and attracted a lot of corporate leaders and sustainability experts. Hira Wajahat, Project Lead Stimulus: “What we created here was an… Read more »

Our 2019 winners triumphed in Amsterdam

We just wrapped up yet another mind blowing Global Grand Final which was held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands on November 14 and 15.  2019 showed a record number of 2,601 cleantech entrepreneurs applying for National Competitions in 53 countries and 70 Boot  Camps across the globe. And now we have our winners… Leafy Ke from Kenya… Read more »

How the Global Supply Chain is Doing its Part to Fix Climate Change

Guest blog written by Cassie Pierce A growing concern for sustainability has transformed how companies are designing their products and marketing them to an increasingly green public. But these initiatives are just the start, as many have also begun making adjustments behind the scenes with regards to their supply chain — and rightly so, given… Read more »

How to go from the back of a napkin to a business with global climate impact

The EIT Climate-KIC entrepreneurship offerings: innovation for global climate action Stimulating the energy and enthusiasm of entrepreneurs to lead the charge with new climate-positive business models is a powerful way to address climate change across sectors and systems. That is why EIT Climate-KIC identifies, supports and invests in (aspiring) entrepreneurs in every stage of innovation:… Read more »

Why women rock Pakistan’s cleantech sector

When our founder Frans Nauta recently returned from leading our Boot Camp in Karachi, Pakistan, he reported: “It was quite something: great entrepreneurs, great atmosphere. And great participation by female founders. Over 50% of participants were women, and they totally rocked.” We decided we needed to find out more about this. Participation by female founders… Read more »

$200,000 fund for our 2018 participant The Compost Depot  

Australian start-up, The Compost Depot, is on a mission to reduce the amount of organic waste going to landfill. They set up a community worm farm/compost depot in Melbourne for locals who cannot compost their waste at home. As they want to grow their impact they applied for and were granted $200 000 from the… Read more »

Seeking awards? Perhaps ClimateLaunchpad is not for you.

This is not your average start-up competition We are not a pitching event. You know what I am talking about… Those competitions that lure you in with the promise of gigantic sums of award money. You enter them just to pitch your business and if you somehow impress the jury, you become an award winning… Read more »

“The cleantech explosion is here”

Take a deep dive into the economics of a green future with ClimateLaunchpad trainer Ron Bloemers During a sold-out MELT Innovatsioonifoorum in Tallinn, Estonia, our very own trainer Ron Bloemers delivered the opening keynote: ‘The cleantech revolution is here to stay and what it takes to accelerate it’. With 25 years on his belt in… Read more »

Bridging the green business gender gap, one start-up at a time

“Missing out on women is missing out on solving climate change.” “When I started working with cleantech, the lack of women involved surprised me,” says Frans Nauta, Project Lead of ClimateLaunchpad. “We know that fixing climate change takes tens of thousands of ideas, experiments, initiatives and businesses. We need all talented and resourceful entrepreneurial potential… Read more »

“Success as a start-up depends on how fast you are at solving problems.”

ClimateLaunchpad trainer Ron Bloemers shares the basics of cleantech start-up training. We sat down with our Boot Camp trainer of the first hour: Ron Bloemers (founder and managing partner of cleantech business accelerator Start-U-up in Amsterdam). His 25 years of hands-on experience with cleantech, renewables and start-ups is of unparalleled value to our participants. Today… Read more »

This is not just a competition

‘ClimateLaunchpad is about creating successful start-ups that will tackle climate change.’   An interview with ClimateLaunchpad trainer Elena Messiou. In 2016 Elena Messiou became one of our Boot Camp trainers. High time for a chat with her about her experience and insights. How did you get involved with ClimateLaunchpad? “One of our other trainers is… Read more »

Every start-up founder needs a good reason to say no

The value of a shared founders dream An interview with Israel Griol Barres, one of our ClimateLaunchpad Trainers   Israel is the StartUPV business accelerator manager in Spain and an experienced lecturer, trainer and mentor. His specialities are innovation, business models, business strategy and entrepreneurship. He first got involved with ClimateLaunchpad in 2014 as a… Read more »

Charity doesn’t scale. Business scales.

You create the biggest impact if you create the largest business. An interview with Hans Westerhof, ClimateLaunchpad Trainer and Project Lead. Hans Westerhof has been part of ClimateLaunchpad ever since the early days back in 2014. As Project Lead and as one of our Trainers. We interviewed him on his preferred module in our infamous… Read more »

Mike Goodfellow-Smith on academics and entrepreneurship

An interview with Mike Goodfellow-Smith – ClimateLaunchpad Trainer ClimateLaunchpad Trainer Mike Goodfellow-Smith is a long time environmental sustainability practitioner and entrepreneur. He began his career as a social entrepreneur with a mission to address climate change and is now studying for a PhD. He’s been one of our Trainers ever since the start in 2014…. Read more »

“To be successful you need to both be open to new ideas and stubborn.”

An interview with Chrétien Herben – ClimateLaunchpad Trainer We had a chat with Chrétien Herben, one of our Boot Camp Trainers. He told us about his favourite training module (Market Segmentation), discussed the power working together with peers and he explains the balance between being open and stubborn. You were involved in creating our Boot… Read more »

The fun and rocky road from idea to business success

An interview with Paris Thomas – ClimateLaunchpad Trainer “Being a ClimateLaunchpad trainer is an amazing job. I get to meet and work with so many smart, motivated and energetic people. It’s sheer joy. Our participants are a brave lot, during the competition I see them go through highs and lows, conquer stuff they never had… Read more »

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