In a recent move aimed at nurturing early-stage climate-tech startups, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has formalized a partnership with the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP). The collaboration is expected to provide both financial backing and mentorship to startups working in clean energy and climate-friendly technologies.
Announced on May 17, 2025, the partnership underscores a growing emphasis on supporting climate innovation within India’s startup ecosystem. Under this Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), GEAPP has committed to launching the Energy Transitions Innovation Challenge (ENTICE), a platform designed to encourage and reward impactful energy transition solutions.
What the ENTICE Challenge Brings to the Table
The ENTICE challenge, as outlined by GEAPP, is envisioned as a competitive space where innovative startups can pitch their ideas and potentially receive substantial support. According to the details shared, the platform will offer rewards up to $500,000 for selected startups developing scalable and effective solutions in the climate-tech and clean energy sectors.
Through ENTICE, the goal is to discover and elevate innovations that can contribute meaningfully to India’s clean energy goals. These could include solutions related to renewable energy deployment, energy storage, efficiency improvements, and emissions reduction across various sectors.
Rather than functioning solely as a funding initiative, ENTICE also seeks to provide a larger support system for emerging entrepreneurs. Mentorship opportunities, access to industry experts, and guidance from experienced investors are key features of the challenge. This blended approach of funding and mentorship is aimed at helping young companies build sustainable business models while maintaining a strong focus on climate-positive impact.
Enabling Investment and Financial Guidance
In addition to prize funding from GEAPP, the initiative will be supported by investment partners such as Spectrum Impact and Avana Capital. These partners are expected to play a crucial role in providing financial support, strategic advice, and networking access to selected startups.
With early-stage ventures often struggling to raise initial capital, especially in deep-tech areas like climate and clean energy, this added layer of investment support could ease their path forward. Moreover, the involvement of mission-aligned investors like Spectrum and Avana helps ensure that the funding flows toward companies that align with long-term climate goals rather than just short-term commercial viability.
The approach reflects an understanding that climate-tech startups require more than capital—they need partners who understand the complexity and urgency of climate action and are willing to stay with them for the long haul.
A Strategic Step Towards Net-Zero Goals
While announcing the partnership, DPIIT highlighted the importance of climate entrepreneurship in supporting India’s broader environmental targets. Joint Secretary of DPIIT, Sanjiv, shared his thoughts on what this collaboration could mean for the sector.
“This partnership would open significant opportunities for clean energy startups to scale technologies that support the country’s long-term net-zero objectives,” he said.
His remarks underline the government’s increasing recognition of the private sector’s role in addressing climate issues. With India targeting net-zero emissions by 2070, fostering innovation through such public-private collaborations is becoming a core strategy.
The idea is not just to support startups for their potential return on investment, but to create a pipeline of companies that can contribute solutions to some of India’s most pressing environmental challenges—from reducing fossil fuel dependence to improving access to clean power in rural areas.
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The Formal Signing and Key Stakeholders
The MoU was officially signed by DPIIT Director Sumeet Jarangal and GEAPP’s Vice President for India, Saurabh Kumar. Both sides expressed optimism about the potential impact of their collaboration.
Saurabh Kumar has been closely associated with energy access initiatives in India and brings with him a strong background in public-private partnerships. Through GEAPP, he has been involved in efforts to accelerate clean energy adoption globally, with a focus on inclusivity and sustainable development.
GEAPP, backed by several philanthropic and development organizations, has been active in supporting energy transitions in emerging economies. Their work typically revolves around enabling distributed renewable energy, promoting grid modernization, and helping governments design enabling policy frameworks.
Climate-Tech: An Emerging Focus in Startup India
Over the past few years, climate-tech has slowly emerged as a critical sector within the Indian startup space. While sectors like fintech, edtech, and SaaS continue to attract the lion’s share of venture capital, interest in climate-focused ventures is rising. The government, through initiatives like Startup India and the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, has been exploring ways to create a more nurturing ecosystem for clean-tech ventures.
However, challenges remain. From regulatory hurdles to technology risks and lack of patient capital, climate-tech startups often face a steeper climb than their peers in other industries. Programs like ENTICE are a response to these specific pain points, seeking to provide a clearer path to scale and sustainability for early innovators.
By combining capital support with industry mentoring, the DPIIT-GEAPP partnership is attempting to bridge some of these systemic gaps, creating more room for experimentation and growth.
As India continues to grow its startup economy, ensuring that innovation contributes to climate resilience and sustainability has become a shared priority among policymakers, investors, and civil society. The partnership between DPIIT and GEAPP marks a step in that direction—bringing together public intent and private capability to support the emergence of climate-conscious businesses.
While the ultimate outcomes of the ENTICE challenge will unfold in the coming months, its launch sends a clear message: India is not only encouraging startups to dream big, but also guiding them to build businesses that are aligned with the environmental realities of today and the energy needs of tomorrow.
