The Earthshot Prize Launchpad - Connecting Climate Innovation to Capital, Globally.

By Anuradha Bajaj , Chief Innovative Finance and Investment Officer, The Earthshot Prize.

I met lots of incredible innovators at London Climate Action Week 2024 last week. The talent and commitment needed to tackle our planet’s problems are undeniably out there.

Their ambitions are commendably high, and they all need varying levels of support to achieve them.

But the one thing they always want to discuss with me is how to secure the finance needed to scale. Regardless of their sector, a common problem they all face is accessing the right type of financing at the right time.

When I joined The Earthshot Prize just over a year ago there was a tantalising question already bubbling under the surface.

We were in the middle of our third year, having selected 30 Finalists and awarded 10 incredible winners with a transformative £1 million each to scale their solutions, all of whom are now delivering huge impact in fantastic ways.

At the same time, we were seeing record numbers of solutions being nominated for the Prize. A trend that was pointing to a fast-growing movement of creative changemakers around the world dedicated to repairing and restoring the planet.

So, while The Earthshot Prize itself selects 15 Finalists with five Winners being named each year, it was becoming clear that the Earthshot platform is far bigger.

How could we showcase the many more innovative solutions and approaches from our portfolio?

The Earthshot Prize Launchpad was designed to do just that.

First unveiled during Earthshot Week in Singapore in November last year, our online matchmaking platform enables innovators in our portfolio to easily connect with like-minded investors and philanthropists.

For innovators, Launchpad provides access to selected funders offering a range of financing options covering philanthropic grants and commercial capital to help take their solution to the next level.

For funders, Launchpad provides access to a curated pipeline from our ever-growing portfolio with opportunities across non-profit, academia, government and private enterprise.

Launchpad at London Climate Action Week 2024

A central theme to this year’s London Climate Action Week was exploring how public and private finance systems can evolve to accelerate the financing of climate solutions.

So it was great to see so many innovators, funders and supporters from our Launchpad community connect, re-connect and collaborate at our Workshop and Networking event during London Climate Action Week.

Despite only launching the pilot around six months ago, I’m immensely proud of the impact that Launchpad has already enabled, and it was fantastic to be able to share just some of that progress at our events last week.

So far, over 150 professional investors and philanthropists from around the world have joined the platform.

On the innovator side, we are currently showcasing 25 solutions from six continents with funding needs exceeding $500 million.

The first deals have already been struck too, among them 2022 Winners Notpla successfully secured £3.5 million in funding towards their recent £10 million funding round.

What's Next for Launchpad?

While still in beta phase, we are aiming to triple the number of solutions in this year and open up access to investors from many more countries, thereby connecting our global portfolio of innovators to funders in their regions and beyond.

The speed at which Launchpad has been adopted in just a few short months is incredibly inspiring. The pathway for climate innovators to find the right funding, from the right partner at the right time, is now much easier.

With New York Climate Week fast approaching and The Earthshot Prize Awards in Cape Town coming soon after in November, I am very much looking forward to convening our fantastic Launchpad community once again.

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For more information on how to get involved please email launchpad@earthshotprize.org

First published on The Earthshot Prize.