Indian ClimateTech Startups, Watch Out For This New Accelerator Program! The ClimAct program, launched by Merak Ventures and Huddle, will accelerate early-stage climate-tech startups working on agriculture-wastage and supply chain efficiency, mobility and transport, climate finance, carbon accounting and sequestration and digital solutions
By Soumya Duggal •
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Early-stage VC firm Merak Ventures and accelerator-led fund Huddle have launched an accelerator program, ClimAct, for climate-tech startups in India.
The program aims to accelerate and fund early-stage climate-tech startups working in such areas as agriculture-wastage and supply chain efficiency, mobility and transport, climate finance, carbon accounting and sequestration, and digital solutions, said a statement.
Accel, Matrix Partners, Sequoia Capital, Aavishkar Capital, Lok Capital, Nexus Venture Partners and Stellaris Venture Partners are ClimAct's fund partners, added the statement.
Applications for ClimAct opened on November 8, 2022, and the first cohort will begin in February 2023. Spanning four months, the program will provide each of the participating startups with $200,000 in pre-seed capital and a potential follow-on investment of up to $1.5 million after its end in June.
"In 2021, ClimateTech funding was 5.5 per cent of total venture funding globally, and in India the number was even lower at 1.5 per cent. At Merak, we are intent on bridging this gap by investing in innovative tech companies that are solving real world problems. With ClimAct, we will serve as the conduit for early-stage startups to get pre-seed funds, amass value from our partner network, and ease of access to climate-focussed venture capital," said Sheetal Bahl, Partner, Merak Ventures.
"The climate ecosystem requires active intervention, and there's no greater time to invest in emerging technologies that will drive the change. At Huddle, our focus is on accelerating and investing in game-changing ventures addressing critical pain points around India's vulnerability to climate change. Through ClimAct, we look forward to helping India decarbonise and achieve its Net Zero carbon emissions target by 2070," said Ishaan Khosla, Founding Partner of Huddle.
India has a little over $1 billion invested in climate tech from 2016 to 2021, marking a severe discrepancy compared to $40 billion across 600 plus companies globally. With India's ambitious target of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2070, a push for investing in climate-tech is critical, according to the companies.
Besides capital, ClimAct will support the early build and validation phase of shortlisted companies with curated access to industry veterans, an extended network for pilot opportunities and customised credits of up to $500,000 across technology and business functions to ensure that the focus on sustained decarbonisation of the economy gains momentum, added the statement.
