UNIDO opens entry for cleantech innovation
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has started accepting entries for the Global Cleantech Innovation Programme (GCIP), funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). It seeks to promote cleantech innovation and entrepreneurship to address the most pressing climate and environmental challenges. According to the organization, cleantech innovators and start-ups often face serious barriers to […]
The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has started accepting entries for the Global Cleantech Innovation Programme (GCIP), funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).
It seeks to promote cleantech innovation and entrepreneurship to address the most pressing climate and environmental challenges.
According to the organization, cleantech innovators and start-ups often face serious barriers to commercializing ideas and scaling up their startups.
The lack of technical support, limited access to funding, weak cleantech ecosystem, weak policy regulatory environment, and institutional barriers among others have kept most innovators in the “Valley of death”, it noted.
However, UNIDO said GCIP bridges this “valley of death” by providing competition-based business acceleration services for innovative cleantech start-ups and SMEs, linking enterprises to private sector investors and fostering enabling innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystems.
To enter for the programme, participants would need to have an already developed innovative technology-based product on energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste beneficiation, green buildings, transportation, advanced materials and chemicals.
The entry is open until July 21 which is in three weeks’ time, it noted in the notice.