The GSMA Innovation Fund for Climate Resilience and Adaptation

On November 9, during the Science and Innovation day at COP26, the GSMA announced the launch of the GSMA Innovation Fund for Climate Resilience and Adaptation. This new Fund will help accelerate the testing, adoption and scalability of digital innovations that enable the world’s most vulnerable populations to adapt, anticipate and absorb the negative impacts of climate change.

The GSMA is looking for start-ups, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and social enterprises in Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean, Latin America and Eastern Europe that leverage digital technology, particularly mobile, to deliver climate resilience and adaptation solutions to and with low-income and vulnerable populations.*

Successful projects will receive an equity-free grant of between £100,000 and £250,000 to scale their innovation over a 15 to 18 month period.

Applications close on 9 January 2022 at 23:59 UTC.

The GSMA is a new member of the Adaptation Research Alliance (ARA) – a global collaborative effort to increase investment and capacity for action-orientated research to support effective adaptation to climate change. We support ARA’s best practice to find innovative and participative ways for incorporating the voice and views of local communities (such as through leveraging digital technology) as it empowers them to participate as equal partners in adaptation processes.

In addition to the financial compensation, grantees will receive further support, including but not limited to:

• Learning exchange opportunities with other grantees and GSMA networks;
• Facilitation of relationships with mobile operators and public sector organisations; and
• Profiling opportunities through GSMA publications, social media and industry leading MWC events.