Amplifying the support for emerging climate start-ups and initiatives
EIT Climate-KIC, IDB Lab, and the Clean Technology Fund have partnered to advance climate innovation in Latin American and the Caribbean. We are supporting innovation agencies, incubators, accelerators, ecosystem builders, venture capital investors, co-working spaces, and hubs to enhance their entrepreneurship offering for local climate start-ups across Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, and Peru. Implemented from June 2023 to May 2025, the initiative sets a pathway towards inclusive, sustainable growth, resonating with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Phase 1 completed. Discover the insights from the Entrepreneurship Support Organisations (ESOs) detailed below and learn what’s next for start-ups in Phase 2 in 2024.
Recap of phase 1: Capacity building for accelerators
From 115 applications across 16 countries, 26 Entrepreneurship Support Organisations (ESOs) from 11 countries were selected for their potential to drive climate action. This phase’s primary aim is to empower local entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystems to tackle the climate crisis and facilitate the acceleration and commercial deployment of innovative mitigation technologies. Read more about our work in LAC, view the complete list of selected ESOs and their locations, and learn from the insights of the completion of phase 1.
The road towards accelerating 100 climate-tech startups in LAC
Building their capacity to accelerate
By March 31 these ESOs have undergone tailored capacity building and knowledge transfer modules. Among the topics they covered were:
Climate entrepreneurship,
systems change,
business model and financial sustainability,
communications strategy for climate innovations,
monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) frameworks,
gender mainstreaming,
impact assessment, and more.
International support network
From November 2023 to March 2024, they received 1:1 mentoring sessions from climate experts within EIT Climate KIC, and leveraged an open-sourced suite of tools for running their own ClimAccelerator.
Building community
Workshops and facilitated meetings enabled participants from across LAC to meet their peers, exchange best practices, share opportunities, and understand the diverse challenges and solutions encountered in their journey of supporting entrepreneurs.
ClimAccelerator Pitches
The 26 ESOs will present their ClimAccelerator plans to a panel of experts from EIT Climate-KIC and IDB Lab. These pitch days, scheduled for April, will determine which organisations will advance to Phase Two of the programme, where USD300K will be distributed among the best Climaccelerator programmes.
Get involved
Support ESOs in the ClimAccelerator programme as a volunteer, advisor, or mentor.
Sign-up hereInterested start-ups, sign up here for ClimAccelerator 2024 updates and programme details.
Sign-up here
Phase 2: Acceleration of local climate innovations
Several ESOs will be funded to roll out EIT Climate-KIC’s ClimAccelerator programme, aimed at enhancing early-stage start-ups for significant climate impact. This initiative will support 100 start-ups through various stages of development and offer guidance on climate impact assessments, connections to a broad network of mentors, experts, and investors, and assistance in areas such as communication strategies, community engagement, programme design, execution, and gender mainstreaming.
Would you like to learn more about the programme or explore ways to get involved? Send us an email at climaccelerator@climate-kic.org.
The ESOs selected to accelerate climate innovations
To be announced in May 2024
Our funding partners
IDB Lab is the innovation laboratory of the IDB Group, the leading source of development financing and expertise for improving lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. The purpose of IDB Lab is to drive innovation for inclusion in the region, mobilizing financing, knowledge, and connections to test early-stage private sector solutions with the potential to transform the lives of vulnerable populations affected by economic, social, and environmental conditions. Since 1993, IDB Lab has approved more than US$ 2 billion in projects deployed across 26 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. www.idblab.org
The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) is one of the largest multilateral climate funds in the world. It was established in 2008 to mobilize finance for low-carbon, climate-resilient development at scale in developing countries. 14 contributor countries have pledged over $11 billion to the funds. To date, committed CIF capital is mobilizing more than $62 billion in additional financing, particularly from the private sector, in over 70 countries. CIF’s large-scale, low-cost, long-term financing lowers the risk and cost of climate financing. It tests new business models, builds track records in unproven markets, and boosts investor confidence to unlock additional sources of finance. Recognizing the urgency of CIF’s mission, the G7 confirmed its commitment to provide up to $2 billion in additional resources for CIF in 2021. Headquartered at the World Bank building in Washington DC, CIF works with six multilateral development banks. https://www.cif.org