Climate Innovation Prize

The ask

Launch an annual, independently-judged prize for climate innovation with a cash award large enough to move media coverage — with a South/Southeast Asia track that focuses global attention on solutions built for and by the Global South, not transplanted from the North.

Why now

The Earthshot Prize and Breakthrough Energy prizes have demonstrated that a credible, well-publicised award drives deal flow, donor capital, and founder ambition disproportionate to its direct cash outlay. Climate philanthropic capital is growing but poorly directed to emerging-market applications; a prize architecture targeted at tropical, high-vulnerability contexts fills that gap. The UN's 2030 deadline creates urgency that makes prize-giving newsworthy again.

Why Bangladesh

Bangladesh has more to lose from climate inaction than almost any other country — it consistently tops vulnerability indices — and more to gain from a prize that celebrates solutions developed here. Running the South Asia climate prize from Dhaka signals intent and draws founders who can't access Davos or London. BGMEA, BRAC, and the country's diaspora tech community provide a credible institutional network to host and publicise it.

As a business

The prize entity is a hybrid: a registered foundation that solicits corporate and philanthropic sponsorship (in exchange for logo placement, judging seats, and deal access) and a for-profit events arm that monetises the gala, media rights, and regional summits. Sponsorship packages at ৳25–150 lakh per tier fund both the prize purse and operating costs. Over time the prize network becomes a high-quality deal-flow pipeline for ZEPH Ventures itself.

Economics

Move the sliders to model your own climate prize. Defaults are order-of-magnitude estimates — pressure-testing them is part of what a founder pitches us.

What ZEPH would back

A convener — someone with existing relationships in the Dhaka policy and business community and experience organising high-profile events — not a climate technologist. The prize is a reputational and deal-flow play for ZEPH; we would seed it as a founding sponsor rather than a venture investment.

Impact

A prize does not directly avoid carbon — it directs attention and capital toward the solutions that do. The Earthshot Prize's track record shows that prize-winners attract an average of $12M in subsequent funding (Climate Breakthrough data); a Bangladesh-anchored prize with credible judges and a $1M+ purse would generate media coverage and investor attention for South Asian climate solutions that currently receive none. Over five years, a prize that successfully elevates 20–30 climate companies into visibility could catalyse tens of millions in follow-on investment that would not otherwise have reached these geographies, making it among the most capital-efficient interventions in the ClimateFair bank.