UNDP-powered accelerator programme for social impact startups launched in Kerala

The launch of the GIF as part of the India High Range Mountain Landscape project is a step in this direction." In her presidential address, T N Seema, Vice Chairperson, Haritha Keralam Mission, said the outbreak of COVID-19 had made it very clear that our health, our society, and our economy not could be separated from nature. Sasi PM, CEO of KSUM, said as climate change brings in exponential changes in the environment there is an urgent need to develop innovative products, services, businesses, organizational models that will bring in sustainable development through behavioral changes and new business models.

A Green Innovation Fund, a six-month-long fund-linked accelerator program for social impact startups, was launched on Thursday by Kerala Finance Minister Dr. Thomas Isaac. The fund is a joint initiative of Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM), Haritha Keralam Mission and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), India.

Along with the Finance Minister, Shoko Noda, the Country Representative of UNDP, India, was also present at the online launch event. She gave a special address on UNDPs role in leveraging Innovations for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Green Innovation Fund (GIF), seeks to support startups working on SDG goals (Climate change-related) by giving them Grant and technical support, a government press release. There are a whole lot of areas which are awaiting some innovative interventions, especially in the high range belts, which are prone to larger and diverse vulnerabilities, Isaac said.

GIF is ambitious experimentation to leverage technology to bridge gaps which may be arduous through our traditional way of working, he added. The minister also stated how some municipalities in Kerala had transformed into a more enterprising mode by embracing technology.

GIF is a cohort-based fund-linked acceleration program where startups will be selected based on the compatibility of their products with the identified problem statements from the high range landscapes. It seeks to address some of the most pressing issues facing the vulnerable high range communities through innovation.

In her special address, Shoko said: "By combining modern technology like artificial intelligence and drones with the traditional wisdom of communities, we are working to improve management of natural resources, reduce negative impacts upon the environment and promote green jobs. The launch of the GIF as part of the India High Range Mountain Landscape project is a step in this direction." In her presidential address, T N Seema, Vice-Chairperson, Haritha Keralam Mission, said the outbreak of COVID-19 had made it very clear that our health, our society, and our economy not could be separated from nature.

Sasi PM, CEO of KSUM, said as climate change brings in exponential changes in the environment there is an urgent need to develop innovative products, services, businesses, organizational models that will bring in sustainable development through behavioral changes and new business models. There is a need to nurture and develop such ideas that could redefine sustainable enterprises in a structured manner.

The issues that the GIF will seek to address are recurring natural disaster, human-animal conflict, sustainable tourism, sustainable agriculture, waste management, water and energy issues etc. Startup selected for the program are eligible for fund upto Rs 7 lakh.

The application window for the selection of startups to first Cohort of GIF will be live from November 8 to December 10. The GIF is part of the GoI-GEF-UNDP India High Range Mountain Landscape project (IHRML), which is an attempt towards mitigating the effects of climate change and other threats faced by the ecologically fragile landscape of Anchunad and adjoining areas through building an effective collaborative governance framework for multiple-use management.

With the able guidance and leadership of Haritha Keralam Mission and the Kerala State Forests and Wildlife Department at the state level, and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) at the national level, the project activities were kicked off in the 2019-20 Financial Year. KSUM is the nodal agency of the Kerala government for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities in the state.