The shape of the problem
Climate isn’t one problem. It’s many.
Each slice is a sector emitting greenhouse gases. The callouts are our lead bets — businesses we want built to shrink each one.
Pick one · pressure-test the numbers · pitch us
Requests for Climate Startups
Climate businesses we want built — and will back founders to build. Every idea ships with a working economic model: drag the sliders, pressure-test the numbers, and if it holds up, pitch ZEPH Ventures.
Rice-Husk Silica Bricks
A kiln-free brickmaker: structural blocks pressed from rice-husk ash.
Treated Bamboo Factory
Factory-process bamboo with borate treatment and heat-drying to produce durable, export-grade structural members.
Fermented Food-Waste Fish Feed
Ferment urban food waste into low-cost fish feed, cutting aquaculture input costs.
Recycled Plastic Interlocking Bricks
Waste plastic turned into LEGO-style construction bricks, displacing fired-clay bricks in BD.
Urban Vertical Mushroom Farms
Stack mushroom cultivation inside unused urban structures using waste substrate for zero-land food production.
Salt-Tolerant Rice Platform
Breed and commercialise salt-tolerant rice varieties for Bangladesh's flood-inundated coastal zones.
Agrisolar Farms for Farmers
Modular agrivoltaic farms where farmers lease land for panels and power their own irrigation.
Urban Bioswales
Planted drainage channels along Dhaka streets that absorb flash floods and filter urban runoff.
Electric Cargo Trikes
Assemble and lease electric cargo tricycles for last-mile delivery in Bangladesh's dense city cores.
Cob 3D Printing
Gantry 3D printer adapted for cob and earth-paste extrusion — rapid low-cost earthen housing.
Compressed Earth Blocks
Press local laterite soil with minimal cement into stabilised blocks, cutting fired-brick emissions.
Ground-Screw Foundations
Steel screw-pile foundations — no concrete, no curing.
Hemp-Lime Blocks — and their Jute Twin
Carbon-negative insulating blocks from jute hurd and lime.
Open-Source Low-Carbon Housing
Open-source build plans and community guides for low-carbon homes without fired brick.
Rammed Earth Form Molds
Manufacture and sell rammed-earth formwork to enable fired-brick-free construction across rural Bangladesh.
Rammed Earth Formwork
Affordable rammed-earth formwork molds for low-cost housing builders across Bangladesh.
Resin Bamboo Boards
Press locally grown bamboo strips with bio-resin into structural boards substituting imported plywood.
SugarCrete — Bagasse Building Blocks
Low-carbon structural blocks from sugarcane bagasse.
Superadobe Earthbag Shelters
Low-cost, flood-resilient earthbag homes built from local soil for Bangladesh's climate-exposed delta.
Terracotta Passive Cooling Panels
Zero-electricity terracotta honeycomb panels that cool rooms via evaporative airflow.
3D-Printed Injection Molds
3D-print low-cost mold inserts so village recyclers can produce finished plastic parts on demand.
Cardboard Honeycomb Panels
Waste cardboard converted into lightweight honeycomb panels for packaging and construction fill.
Coconut Shell Charcoal
Converting coconut husk waste into premium cooking fuel and activated carbon for rural BD.
Construction Waste Recycling
Crush C&D rubble into recycled aggregate for concrete and road sub-base.
Grass Straws
Manufacture drinking straws from dried grass and reed to replace single-use plastic in Bangladesh's F&B sector.
Natural Fibre Disposable Plates
Bagasse and banana-leaf plates from a press mold — replacing polystyrene in BD food service.
Plastic Pelletiser Network
Affordable pelletiser units letting small recyclers turn mixed plastic waste into sellable feedstock.
Precious Plastic Recycling Franchise
Franchise open-source plastic recycling machines to turn Bangladesh's plastic waste into sellable products.
Recycled Plastic Construction Bricks
Press waste plastic into interlocking building bricks that replace fired clay in Bangladesh's construction boom.
Agri-Drone Training Academy
Train smallholder farmers and agri-technicians to operate crop-spraying and monitoring drones.
Beneficial Insect Biocontrol
Breed and sell predatory insects replacing chemical pesticides on Bangladesh's farms.
Beneficial Nematodes Biopesticide
Mass-produce soil nematodes to replace chemical pesticides on Bangladeshi vegetable farms.
Coconut Shell Biochar
Pyrolyse coconut shells from coastal Bangladesh into premium biochar for soil amendment and carbon markets.
Containerized Mushroom Farms
Shipping-container grow rooms using agri-waste substrate produce premium mushrooms year-round.
Indoor Vertical Strawberry Farming
Climate-controlled vertical strawberry production for BD's premium urban grocery market.
Rice-Fish Integrated Farming
Regenerative rice-carp polyculture raising protein yields on Bangladesh's existing paddy fields.
Sandponics
Grow crops in sand fed by nutrient solution on coastal chars and flood-prone deltaic land.
Spirulina Cultivation and Export
Commercial spirulina grown in BD's warm climate for protein export and domestic nutrition.
Turnkey Hydroponic Farms
Plug-and-play hydroponic farm kits for urban rooftops and flood-prone land in Bangladesh.
Lightweight Flexible Solar Panels
Flexible solar film enabling rooftop and river-fleet electrification without structural reinforcement.
Low-Wind Turbines
Wind turbines designed for Bangladesh's low-speed coastal and delta winds.
Poultry Biogas Digesters
On-farm biogas digesters turn chicken manure into cooking gas and fertilizer with a ~5-year payback.
Solar Ovens
Low-cost parabolic solar cookers eliminate biomass cooking fuel in rural Bangladesh households.
Solar Street Lamps
Install and maintain solar-LED street lighting for Bangladeshi municipalities on a service contract.
DIY River Trash Barriers
Low-cost floating barriers made from local materials intercept river plastic before it reaches the sea.
River Trash Fence
River-mouth trash-fence systems intercepting plastic before it reaches the Bay of Bengal.
Riverine Plastic Collection Platform
Floating barriers and collection vessels that intercept plastic in Bangladesh's rivers before it reaches the sea.
Cargo Bike Trucks
Heavy-duty electric cargo bikes replacing auto-rickshaws for last-mile urban delivery.
E-Bike Franchise
Franchise playbook for launching micro e-bike rental and delivery businesses in Bangladeshi cities.
Electric Scooter Import & Distribution
Import affordable e-scooters and build the last-mile distribution network Bangladesh needs.
Pedal Water Bikes for School Access
Craft pedal-powered water bikes giving haor children safe, daily school transit.
Pineapple Leaf Leather
Convert pineapple leaf waste into Piñatex-style vegan leather for Bangladesh's garment export industry.
Plant-Dyed Organic Cotton
Replace toxic synthetic dyes in Bangladesh RMG exports with plant-based natural dye systems.
Forest Carbon Credits
Monetise Bangladesh's Sundarbans and reforestation land through verified carbon credits.
Bamboo Construction School
Train craftspeople and architects in structural bamboo construction techniques, creating a certified workforce for Bangladesh.
Bio-Enrichment Concrete
Microbially inoculated concrete that self-heals cracks and cuts cement content by 15–25%.
Earthen-Bamboo Construction Studio
Design and build low-carbon earthen and bamboo structures combining local craft with engineered rigour.
Earthship Homes Bangladesh
Off-grid homes built from tyres, recycled glass, and rammed earth — self-heating, water-harvesting, net-zero.
Low-Carbon Construction Training
Vocational school teaching rammed earth, bamboo, and earth plaster to BD builders.
Rammed Earth Tool Kits
Pneumatic tampers and form systems purpose-built for rammed-earth construction, cutting wall time by half.
Sustainable Building Education
Courses and content that shift Bangladesh's construction sector toward low-carbon methods.
Tropical Insulating Windows and Doors
High-performance insulating joinery engineered for tropical heat and monsoon, cutting cooling loads.
Beach Plastic Furniture
Collect coastal plastic waste and press it into durable outdoor benches and street furniture.
Biodegradable Seedling Pots
Seedling pots pressed from jute or rice-husk waste, replacing single-use plastic nursery pots.
Community Recycling Hubs
Neighbourhood collection points that pay waste-pickers fairly and feed industrial recyclers.
Desktop Plastic Shredder
Affordable tabletop shredders seed a distributed plastic processing network across Bangladesh.
Edible Water Pods
Seaweed-membrane water pods replace plastic bottles at mass events, eliminating all hydration packaging waste.
Eggshell Powder Products
Hatchery eggshell waste ground into calcium-rich powder for soil amendment, feed, and bioplastic fillers.
HDPE Bottle Cap Recycling
Collect and sort colourful HDPE bottle caps, melt into panels and everyday products.
Plastic Flotation Sorting
Water-bath density sorting turns Bangladesh's mixed plastic waste into clean, saleable resin streams.
Plastic Recycling Consultancy
A consultancy that designs, launches, and optimises plastic recycling operations for South Asian entrepreneurs.
Recycled Glass Panels
Crush urban waste glass and recast it into premium interior partition tiles and wall panels.
Recycled Plastic Garment Trims
Turn Bangladesh's garment-industry plastic scrap into certified recycled buttons and trims sold back to RMG factories.
Recycled Plastic Toy Sets
Injection-moulded children's toys from post-consumer plastic waste, made for export.
Recycled Rubber Roads
Grind end-of-life tyres into crumb rubber and blend into asphalt to extend road life.
Seed-Embedded Cups
Biodegradable cups embedded with native plant seeds — every discarded cup becomes a seedling.
Subscription Glass Pick-Up and Recycling
Collect, clean, and recirculate glass bottles from restaurants and homes on a subscription.
Upcycle Mall
A retail hub built entirely on repaired, repurposed, and upcycled goods.
Upcycled Plastic Gifts
Artisan souvenirs and homewares made from Bangladesh's urban plastic waste stream.
UV-Degraded Plastic Recycling
Pre-treat UV-damaged outdoor plastics that standard recyclers reject into usable pellets.
Aeroponic Potatoes
Grow potatoes in aeroponic mist systems using 90% less water and no soil, enabling high-yield tuber production.
Air-Pruning Tree Nursery
Produce healthier, faster-establishing tree seedlings using air-pruning containers for reforestation and agroforestry.
Clay Water Soil Restoration
Clay-infused water applications rebuild degraded and char-heavy agricultural land at near-zero cost.
Conservation Tourism
Eco-tourism ventures that fund habitat conservation through visitor fees in Bangladesh's biodiversity corridors.
Farm Map
A digital directory linking Bangladesh's smallholder farms directly to buyers.
Fully Electric Off-Grid Farm
A solar-battery powered commercial farm proving zero-fossil-input agriculture at scale in BD.
Heavy-Lift Farm Drones
Agricultural drone service cutting chemical use and labour on fragmented BD farms.
Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems
Integrate livestock into crop-rotation cycles to rebuild soil fertility and cut synthetic fertiliser inputs.
Kinetic Bird Deterrent Flaps
Wind-powered crop-protection flaps sold to BD smallholders as a chemical-free bird deterrent.
Learning Gardens
School and community food gardens teaching regenerative growing and climate literacy across BD.
Local Healthy Baby Food
Locally-sourced, minimally-processed baby food built on Bangladeshi farmers' surplus.
Microgreens Urban Farm
Set up small-footprint microgreens trays supplying nutrition-dense baby greens to urban households and canteens.
Regenerative Farming Cooperative
Rural cooperative using regenerative practices to produce climate-positive food at scale.
Urban Greens Farm
Hyper-local salad and leafy-green production inside or on top of Dhaka buildings.
Artistic Solar Panels
Print culturally resonant patterns onto solar panels to overcome aesthetic objections and drive rooftop adoption.
China Clean Energy Playbook
A policy and investment roadmap adapting China's solar and wind scale-up model for Bangladesh.
Rooftop Solar Aggregator
Aggregate rooftop solar installations into a financed, maintained portfolio — the Pakistan playbook for Bangladesh.
Rooftop Solar EV Charger
Portable rooftop solar panels that trickle-charge EVs off-grid, built for BD's sparse charging network.
Rooftop Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine
Manufacture and install compact VAWTs for urban rooftops in Bangladesh's wind-exposed coastal cities.
Saltwater Galvanic Lamps
Distribute galvanic saltwater lamps as no-battery off-grid lighting for Bangladesh's char islands.
Scrap-Metal Micro-Hydro
Fabricate low-head micro-hydro turbines from local scrap metal for irrigation canals and river channels.
Silent Wind Turbines
Noise-free wind turbine designs enabling urban and peri-urban wind energy without complaints.
Solar Bike Path
Solar-generating panels embedded in cycle-lane surfaces harvest energy from urban infrastructure.
Solar Cycle-Lane Canopies
Canopy-mounted solar panels over new BRT cycle lanes generate power and shade riders year-round.
Solar Fence Systems
Dual-purpose solar panel fencing that powers farms and rural properties while securing perimeters.
Waste-to-Energy Park
Municipal waste facility that doubles as public green space and climate education hub.
Beach Cleanup Machinery
Tractor-mounted raking machines that clear plastic from Cox's Bazar at scale.
Coastal Desalination Wells
Low-energy desalination systems supplying freshwater to saline-intrusion-affected coastal Bangladesh.
Coastal Microplastic Extraction
Vacuum-and-water sifting rigs remove microplastics from Cox's Bazar beach sand at scale.
Mangrove Restoration & Carbon Credits
Restore coastal mangroves in Bangladesh for carbon credits, coastal protection, and community livelihoods.
Rainwater Banking for Drought Resilience
Underground cisterns and recharge wells that store monsoon rain for dry-season irrigation and drinking water.
Dhaka EV Bus Operator
Electric bus fleet operator for Dhaka city routes, using Chiang Mai's pilot as a template.
Lights-Out EV Assembly
Highly automated electric vehicle assembly that slashes per-unit cost through robotics and dark-factory design.
Neighbourhood Retrofit Service
Community-led greening and flood-resilience retrofits for dense urban neighbourhoods.
Solar Parking Canopy Developer
Install solar canopies over urban parking lots, selling power to building owners and EV charging.
Chitin Foam from Shrimp Shells
Shrimp-shell chitin replaces EPS packaging foam — Bangladesh's shrimp industry makes it a local raw material play.
Climate Crowdfunding Platform
Dedicated crowdfunding platform where small donors co-own verified environmental outcomes.
3D-Printed Rammed Earth
3D-printed walls from local subsoil instead of concrete.
Bio-Ceramic Disaster Housing
Geodesic bio-ceramic shell homes offering zero-carbon, cyclone-resilient housing for coastal BD.
Cork Oak Road Surfacing
Cork granules blended into road asphalt reduce urban heat islands and sequester biogenic carbon.
Earthen Cob Street Furniture
Hand-crafted cob benches and public furniture that seed demand for natural building in Bangladeshi cities.
Bottle Cap Upcycling Studio
Collect and press plastic bottle caps into decorative tiles, furniture inlays, and street furniture for urban markets.
Buy Nothing Network
Organised free-exchange meetups turning neighbours into each other's zero-waste thrift stores.
Copper Scrap Refining
Collect and refine copper from e-waste and wire offcuts into purified rod for resale.
Dhaka Citywide Composting
NYC-scale municipal organics diversion applied to Dhaka's 14,000 tonnes of daily waste.
Eco-Certified Consumer Goods
Eco-certified everyday products made in Bangladesh for export and a growing urban home market.
Plastic Waste Tourist Curios
Turn collected beach plastic into artisan keepsakes sold to eco-tourists at Cox's Bazar.
Self-Destructing Plastics
Polymers that degrade on a set timeline — a watch item for BD's single-use plastic crisis.
Sustainable Manufacturing Proof Point
Show that emerging-market factories can decarbonise production and still compete on cost.
Upcycled Plastic Export Goods
Design-led plastic upcycling studio producing artisan goods for export via online marketplaces and diaspora buyers.
Agroforestry Cacao Chocolate
Direct-trade artisan chocolate brand sourced from agroforestry farms, commanding premium margins.
Climate Nature Camps for Children
Outdoor nature education camps building climate literacy in Bangladeshi children.
Coppicing & Forest Regeneration Service
Sell managed coppicing programs to landowners to accelerate forest regrowth and unlock timber and carbon income.
Drill Harvesting Tool
A power-drill attachment that cuts microgreen and leafy-green harvest time by 80%.
Eco-Tourism Wildlife Tours
Conservation-linked wildlife tours that channel tour revenue directly into habitat protection.
Farm Tours
Guided agritourism visits to sustainable BD farms for urban school groups and consumers.
Farm-to-Table Restaurant Map
An app directing Dhaka diners to restaurants that source locally and sustainably.
Faux Gras
A plant-based liver-pâté alternative for Bangladesh's premium export and hotel markets.
Living Tree Venue and Agroforestry Tourism
Grow living-tree event spaces and regenerative forest gardens as a climate tourism and events business.
Native Plant Nursery
Commercial nursery specialising in native Bangladeshi species for restoration and urban greening.
Phytoremediation with Cash Crops
Restore heavy-metal-contaminated industrial land using aromatic cash crops that extract pollutants while generating revenue.
Regenerative Farm Design Service
Design and commission integrated regenerative farm systems for Bangladeshi landowners and NGOs.
Robotic Farms
Fully automated cultivation systems that cut labour costs and enable chemical-light food production.
Sikkim Organic Farming Model
Apply Sikkim's state-level organic conversion playbook to a Bangladeshi district.
Survival Garden Kit
Flood-resilient gardening kits and guides for food-insecure households in Bangladesh.
Whole Fruit Cacao Chocolate
Chocolate sweetened only with cacao fruit pulp — zero added sugar, zero processing waste.
Bangladesh Renewable Energy Developer
Develop independent power projects as renewables become cheaper than new gas capacity.
Battery Cost Index
A live Bangladesh-market battery price tracker for EV and storage investors.
Bio-Battery Research
Organic and microbial electrochemistry for batteries that avoid rare-earth mining.
Green Special Economic Zone
A policy and development blueprint adapting Hainan's all-EV clean-energy SEZ model for Bangladesh.
Off-Grid Rural Energy Systems
Turnkey off-grid solar-storage packages for Bangladesh's char and remote coastal communities.
Osmotic Power at the Delta
Harness salinity gradients at Bangladesh's river-sea interface to generate baseload clean power.
Passive Wind Cooling Systems
Design and install passive ventilation and wind-catcher systems that cool buildings without electricity.
Underground Data Center Waste Heat Recovery
Site data centres underground and pipe their waste heat into district heating or industrial processes.
Underwater Data Centers
Submerge modular data centre pods in coastal waters for passive cooling and reduced land footprint.
Aquatic Science and Blue Economy Institute
Applied marine and freshwater science institute driving blue-economy startups in Bangladesh.
Urban River Restoration
Commercial river cleanup and restoration services turning degraded urban waterways into assets.
Electric Off-Road Vehicle Retrofits
Electric powertrain retrofits for off-road utility vehicles serving rural and terrain-challenged markets.
Road Safety by Design
Urban street redesign consultancy applying Helsinki-style safe-system principles in BD cities.
Urban Gondola Transit
Electric aerial gondola systems for hilly South Asian cities with low infrastructure footprint.
Wildlife Crossing Infrastructure
Rope bridges and canopy connectors that restore biodiversity corridors across fragmented habitats.
Biomimicry Spill-Proof Cup
Design spill-proof cups using biomimicry principles to replace single-use plastic lids at cafes and events.
Mycelium Biomaterials
Grow mycelium-bound composites from agricultural waste to replace foam packaging and non-structural panels.
Mycelium Road Substrate
Mycelium-bound composite panels replacing compacted gravel in Bangladesh's rural pathways.
Climate & Food Fellowship
A fellowship funding Bangladesh's most ambitious climate-food founders and researchers.
Climate Equity Crowdfunding Platform
A retail equity platform channelling Bangladeshi diaspora and domestic savings into climate startups.
Climate Innovation Prize
High-profile annual prize directing philanthropic capital and attention to breakthrough climate solutions.
Climate Sceptic Engagement
A communications and training platform that helps climate businesses win over sceptical decision-makers.
Climate Tech Accelerator Bangladesh
An accelerator program mobilising early-stage climate startup capital in Bangladesh.
Regenerative Land Investment Fund
An investment vehicle backing nature-based land restoration projects in Bangladesh and South Asia.
Climate Tech Skills Academy
Vocational training producing certified workers for Bangladesh's growing clean-energy sector.