Pakistan Pledges $50 Million to Boost Climate Startups

With the announcement of Climaventures, a $50 million climate venture fund and accelerator, Pakistan has started a campaign to promote climate innovation and encourage private investment.

The National Rural Support Programme (NRSP) launched the initiative in Islamabad bringing together local investors, development finance leaders, government officials and climate change stakeholders, according to a statement released on Saturday.

Climaventures, which was created to support climate-focused startups and ventures, was set to initiate sustainable development in the nation’s climate sector which had long been under-resourced and under-financed. 

Government representatives and officials from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) were among the attendees marking a significant advancement in Pakistan’s climate strategy which aims to foster domestic solutions to urgent environmental challenges.

According to the statement, the participants demonstrated a broad partnership backing Climaventures in its efforts to address Pakistan’s climate demands.

The project will use the nation’s venture ecosystem to mobilise more private investment, with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) contributing $25 million or half of the fund’s budget.

By means of grants, equity investments and technical assistance, Climaventures will enable climate startups to expand their influence and enhance Pakistan’s ability to deal with the effects of climate change.

The program’s goal was to boost startup success rates by emphasising both financial and technical support which was essential for developing Pakistan’s climate-solutions ecosystem.

A strong public-private partnership was demonstrated by the initiative’s support from Pakistan’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environment Coordination (MoCC&EC).

Climaventures was formed to bridge the financial gap in climate solutions by giving first-loss equity, reducing the risk of private investments and ensuring long-term support for creative projects.