Are you an innovator? Can you innovate to fight climate change? If yes, then this is for you.

The Climate Investment Challenge is calling on graduate students to develop and express creative financial solutions and innovations that address climate change.

Solutions could include developing innovative financial structures or tools that improve the bankability of climate investment or identifying untapped climate finance opportunities.

Prizes

The winning will be awarded £10,000 while the runner-up teams will be awarded £5,000 respectively.

Eligibility

Students who are enrolled in a postgraduate degree (Masters, MBA, or PhD-level) at the time of the submission are eligible.

The challenge is open globally to students from all academic backgrounds. Undergraduate students may participate as long as the leader of the group is enrolled in a postgraduate degree. Students will have to form teams of 2 to 5 members.

About the challenge

The Climate Investment Challenge will be in three stages:

Stage 1: Your team will submit a Concept Note of your idea. The Concept Note will explain the financial challenge/opportunity, the climate impact, and how you plan to capitalize on it.

The Concept Note template can be downloaded on the apply page. If your team’s submission is selected, you’ll move on to the next stage.

The deadline is February 28, 2022.

Stage 2 (Semi-Finals): At this stage, your team will be asked to develop a more detailed slide deck of your idea, expanding on your Concept Note and including the financial cashflows of your idea.

If your team’s idea is selected, your team will move on to the final stage.

The deadline is April 22, 2022.

Stage 3 (Finals): At this finals, your team will pitch your idea to an expert panel from industry and academia – investment banking, private equity, and impact investing.

Finalists will be announced on May 20, 2021.

Finals event will be on July 1, 2022, at Imperial College in London.

How to apply

To participate in the Climate Investment Challenge, download the Concept Note template, complete it and submit it along with the application form. Fill in the contact details of your team’s lead applicant in the application fields here. The contact details of the rest of the team should be included in the Concept Note itself.

For more info, contact: [email protected]