Call for applications: iCARE Innovations Fund
Application Deadline: 28 August 2023.
About
iCARE Innovations Fund aims to ignite breakthroughs for climate resilience in South Asia by promoting innovation in data analytics, decision support systems, and standards building on Tech Emerge and Climate Innovations Challenge. The fund will help in upscaling and co-creating innovations for climate adaptation, resilient infrastructure, and sectoral decision support systems for integrated water resources management and climate-smart agriculture.
The Fund is supported by the World Bank under the Climate Adaptation and Resilience (CARE) for South Asia project and a total of US$ 2.5 million is made available to ADPC to identify, scale, and pilot innovations to reduce climate risk and build climate resilience of communities vulnerable to such risks and extremes.
Applicant’s Eligibility Criteria
- ADPC will accept applications from public sector organizations, companies, and organizations (including non-profit, non-governmental, civil society organizations, and think tanks) operating lawfully in any country or territory with experience deploying climate-resilient technology solutions in low-income or developing countries.
- The applicant must demonstrate that they have been operating under its business name for a period of more than one year.
- The applicant must demonstrate that they have handled at least 2 successful projects with a minimum value of USD 50,000 in the past 3 years showcasing its capability of handling USD 100,000 for the innovation.
- The applicant must have the financial capacity to provide the goods and/or services. Financial capacity will be assessed by comparing the applicants’ revenues to the value of the proposed contract(s) during the due diligence process.
- Applicants will be required to demonstrate experience in deploying such a technology or solution in any SAR country.
- ADPC will also accept applications from consortia. For this purpose, ADPC defines consortium applications as those submitted by formal consortia only, i.e., where two or more organizations come together to create a new, formally constituted organization with its own organizational accounts.
- Privately owned companies, including those with experience providing innovative climate resilient technology solutions in South Asia.
- The solution must be at least a Minimum Viable Product/prototype (MVP) that has been deployed with test results and status, including reasons for taking up or not taking up.
- The solution should be able to show its outreach and benefit to both citizens and relevant government agencies.
Geographical scope
Only projects implemented in South Asian Region (SAR) countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are eligible for funding under this call. The innovation needs to be piloted at the National or Sub-national levels and may include the lowest administrative unit in order to showcase maximum impact. Discussion and Letter of Support from end user (Ministries/Department/Authority is needed)
Duration and funds
Each funded project must reach its financial closure within 15 months after signing the grant agreement. Total funds proposed to be made available are USD 1 Million. Around 8 to 10 innovations will be selected using grants up to USD 100,000.