ClimateLaunchpad: The Green Business Ideas Competition

Our competition is your ticket to European and global success. Provided you have a green business idea and have what it takes to become an entrepreneur.

Your idea can be an innovation in renewable energy, a sustainable transition in the food chain, a mind shift in urban mobility or any other way to tackle climate change.

Train. Compete. Launch.

 

How it works

To enter the competition you submit an idea or innovation that can make environmental impact. We’ll help you fast track that idea into a business and bypass all possible pitfalls along the way. You’ll learn how to get your idea funded and launched.

Once you are selected to join ClimateLaunchpad, the Boot Camp and coaching sessions will help you develop your idea to a rock-solid plan. You will pitch this during your National Final. The top 3 winners of each national competition will go on to compete in the Grand Final.

Even if your idea is on the back of a napkin, you’re most welcome to join. Our National Juries select the best proposals to join the National Finals.

ClimateLaunchpad countries

In 2017 the competition is open to participants based in Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, The Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Scotland, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom (England: Birmingham & London), and Ukraine.

Check the submission deadlines per country.

The programme

Once you’re accepted into the competition, the games begin:

Step 1: Boot Camp
ClimateLaunchpad kicks off with a 2-day Boot Camp in your own country. Our trainers will teach you all you need to know about jumpstarting your business.

Step 2: Intensive coaching and National Finals
The Boot Camp is followed by a period of intensive coaching. You’ll perfect your pitch, value proposition and business model. We’ll make sure you are ready to rock the National Final where you get to pitch in front of your National Jury. The Top-3 of each country enters the Grand Final held in October in Limasol, Cyprus.

Step 3: Grand Final in Cyprus in October
The Top-10 competitors in the Grand Final will get direct access to the Climate-KIC Accelerator, the renowned business school where great ideas grow into great businesses. On top of that there is also prize money. The overall winner of the Grand Final receives € 10,000, the runner up gets € 5,000 and the idea that comes in third place wins € 2,500.

All other National Finalists who made it to the Grand Final get a chance to pitch their idea to the review board of Climate-KIC Accelerator. Impress them and gain access to their programme.

Small print

Let us challenge you, join the competition. But before you do, we just want to make sure that you:

  • have not yet started a business or you started it less than one year ago;
  • have no substantial revenue;
  • you have attracted no more than € 200,000 in investment;
  • you have not yet sold products, solutions or prototypes on commercial terms.

For more information, please check our FAQ.

All good? Don’t miss out: enter your idea by filling out our application form.

ClimateLaunchpad. The world’s largest green business ideas competition.