“Startup India is a flagship initiative of the government of India. It was launched in 2015 with about less than two dozen startups, and today we are ranked third globally with about 1,12,000 startups,” he said while speaking at the Avaana Capital-Startup India Grand Challenge for ClimateTech Innovation at Vanijya Bhawan in the capital on Friday.
Over 600 of these startups are in the climate tech space — particularly in areas such as green technology, renewable energy and waste management. “Over 39% of these climate tech startups are led by women directors, and more than 49% of them originated from tier-two and tier-three cities,” he said at the event.
The programme was aimed to recognise and assist innovative startups dedicated to addressing climate change challenges — including mitigation, adaptation and resilience — thereby contributing to India’s journey towards achieving net-zero emissions. The organisers said they had received applications across six themes: energy transition, mobility and supply chains, sustainable agriculture and food systems, circular economy and resource management, water and industrial decarbonisation, and built environment and carbon capture.
The 12 finalists were Zerocircle, Cancrie, Sangti, CarbonTrail, Banofi, MiniMines, Baud Resources, Recyclers and AquaNurch. The winners were Greenpod labs, Ambiator and Nexus Power, in that order.Of the 410 applicants, 30% were women, seven from Northeastern states and more than 200 startups from non-metro cities, said Anjali Bansal, Founding Partner, Avaana Climate and Sustainability Fund.She was also a member of the jury that was chaired by Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa. Other members on the jury were Sally Taylor, Minister Counsellor, UK Government; Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director, AIM; S Ramann, CMD, SIDBI; Jon Creyts, CEO, RMI; Ravi Chhabria, MD, NetApp India; and Caroline Flammer, A. Barton Hepburn Professor of Economics, Columbia University.“Technology plays a big role. As early stage investors we invest in technology, solar energy, circular economy, industrial decarbonisation, agriculture, etc,” Bansal added.
