Frankfurt am Main, Germany, June 3, 2020 – Over 300 viewers and participants joined the finale of clim@ 2020, a global competition for innovative green enterprises. At the online event on June 2nd, fifteen finalists pitched their solutions for addressing climate change to a jury of experts in climate finance and technology. The top five teams were awarded a total of EUR 35,000 to advance their businesses.
The finale marked the conclusion of a four-month-long competition hosted by the Green for Growth Fund (GGF). Under the motto “compete for a sustainable future,” clim@ seeks to showcase and support entrepreneurial ideas for protecting the climate and environment through, for example, energy savings, carbon emission reductions, the responsible use of natural resources, and more. The first-ever clim@ was launched in 2018 to much success and this year’s contest continued that momentum, drawing more than 200 total applications from 60 countries around the world.
All five 2020 winners presented strong business ideas to drive the green transformation. The top prize of EUR 15,000 went to Beyond Leather Materials from Denmark for their novel approach to producing a vegan and eco-friendly leather alternative made from apple waste. In second place was ColdHubs from Nigeria, awarded EUR 10,000 to grow their business that designs, installs, and operates 100% solar-powered walk-in cold rooms for outdoor markets and farm clusters to preserve perishable food. Whole Surplus from Turkey, coming in third place, was awarded EUR 5,000 for their technology-based solutions to recover the best possible value out of surplus food. Manyfolds from Germany, designer of an intelligent platform system for digital shipping packaging creation, and Biodisel Misr from Egypt, which produce biodiesel from used cooking oil, came in fourth and fifth place respectively and were awarded EUR 2,500 each.
GGF Chairman Olaf Zymelka said: “The clim@ competition not only complements the work of the Green for Growth Fund by supporting creative, high-impact solutions in the fields of sustainable energy and resource efficiency; it is also a platform that showcases these to other investors, peers, and organizations that have the power to grow these businesses further. An event like this is a collaborative effort. It would not have been possible without the 30+ partners of clim@, including partner financial institutions of the GGF, who promoted the competition within their own networks, as well as the jury members who contributed their time and expertise. Particular thanks go to EU4Energy and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development for their generous support. And lastly, thank you and congratulations are in order for the impressive candidates, and of course, the well-deserved winners of the competition.”
ABOUT CLIM@
clim@ was initiated by the Green for Growth Fund (GGF) in 2018 and is organized by Finance in Motion on behalf of the GGF and sponsored by the European Commission and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The clim@ competition targets businesses or projects that have the power to revolutionize current practices and demonstrate strong positive climate impacts. The competition encourages innovative and unique business ideas that are market ready and can provide novel ways to combat climate change.
Entries have been welcomed under the following themes: renewable energy, energy efficiency/ conservation, circular economy solutions, and resource efficiency (waste and water management).
For more information on the clim@ competition, visit https://ggf-climat.com/ and follow us on Twitter
ABOUT THE GGF
The Green for Growth Fund invests in measures designed to cut energy use and CO2 emissions, and improve resource efficiency in 19 markets across Southeast Europe, the Caucasus, Ukraine, Moldova, the Middle East and North Africa. The fund provides such financing directly to renewable energy projects, corporates and municipalities or indirectly via selected financial institutions. The GGF’s Technical Assistance Facility maximizes the fund’s investment impact through support for capacity building at local financial institutions and partners.
The GGF was initiated as a public-private partnership in December 2009 by Germany’s KfW Development Bank and the European Investment Bank, with financial support from the European Commission, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Austrian Development Bank (OeEB). The fund’s growing investor base comprises donor agencies, international financial institutions and institutional private investors, including the International Finance Corporation, the Dutch development bank FMO, and the German ethical bank GLS. The GGF is advised by Finance in Motion GmbH. MACS Energy & Water GmbH, Frankfurt am Main acts as the technical advisor.
For more information see www.ggf.lu and follow us on Twitter @GreenGrowthFund
Media contact GGF
Merle Römer
Manager Marketing & Communications
Phone: +49 (0)69 271 035-171
Email: press@ggf.lu