Deep Tech Growth in Climate-Focused Markets

Africa and other emerging markets present significant opportunities for climate tech solutions, particularly in off-grid energy, sustainable agriculture, and water management. For decades, discussions about climate change have centered on challenges, but today, the focus is shifting toward solutions. In Africa, where over 600 million people lack access to electricity, off-grid energy innovations such as solar mini-grids and battery storage solutions are transforming rural communities. Companies are already deploying affordable, pay-as-you-go solar home systems, allowing families and businesses to generate power without relying on expensive and unreliable national grids. ➜ Sustainable agriculture is another key frontier for climate tech. With over 70% of Africans relying on agriculture for their livelihoods, the need for climate-resilient farming techniques has never been greater. Technologies like precision agriculture, drought-resistant seeds, and AI-driven weather forecasting are helping farmers adapt to changing climatic conditions while improving productivity. By digitizing supply chains and providing real-time market access through mobile platforms, smallholder farmers can reduce post-harvest losses and increase their profits. ➜ Water management is equally critical for climate resilience. Many African regions experience severe droughts and water scarcity, making efficient water use a necessity. Climate tech startups are developing smart irrigation systems, atmospheric water harvesting, and wastewater recycling solutions that maximize water efficiency. AI-powered sensors and data analytics are also being used to monitor groundwater levels and predict shortages before they become crises. The beauty of climate tech in emerging markets is that these solutions are not just mitigating climate change but also creating economic opportunities. The climate tech industry is projected to be worth over $1.5 trillion by 2030, and Africa is uniquely positioned to be at the center of this transformation. Governments, investors, and entrepreneurs must work together to scale these innovations and make them accessible to the communities that need them the most. ➜ The time to invest in climate tech for Africa and emerging markets is now. As global capital shifts toward green investments, Africa has the opportunity to leapfrog traditional, carbon-intensive models and embrace sustainable solutions. The question is no longer whether these technologies will take off, but how quickly they can scale to benefit millions. Let’s build a future where climate resilience and economic growth go hand in hand. The opportunities are limitless—who is ready to invest in Africa’s green revolution?

India’s Green Financing Opportunity Could Shape a Century   India stands at a defining moment where a growing economic momentum meets an urgent climate imperative. The capital we choose to deploy today, and the priorities that guide this deployment, will influence not just our development trajectory but also the century that India shapes for the world.   At a global scale, the key outcomes from the recently concluded COP30 point towards the immediacy of climate action and the pivotal role of green financing. With strategic policymaking and the emergence of a climate-focused entrepreneurial ecosystem, India has a real opportunity to lead the global cleantech transition and achieve its commitment to reach net-zero by 2070.   Today, Green finance is powering innovation and scaling climate action while enabling entrepreneurship and opening avenues in infrastructure and job creation. At the heart of this transition is India’s rapidly expanding climate-tech or cleantech entrepreneurship ecosystem. Entrepreneurs are building impactful solutions across solar microgrids, battery storage, EV charging, carbon capture and sustainable packaging. According to a news report published by Inc42, Indian climate tech startups attracted over $2.2Bn in new funding over the last 18 months. Despite this momentum, early-stage climate ventures, especially in Tier 2/3 regions, often face barriers in accessing institutional capital. The government is addressing this through policy pivots that strengthen transparency and build confidence in the climate innovation ecosystem.   Subsequently, upper-layer NBFCs, lenders and development finance institutions are collaborating to bridge funding gaps. We are also seeing the rise of innovative financing structures, including blended finance models that combine concessional and commercial capital, thematic green funds to de-risk early-stage investments and ESG-aligned investment frameworks. These tools are helping channel capital to the most impactful and scalable climate innovations. As policy intent aligns with an expanding pool of capital, I truly believe India is well-positioned to become a global cleantech hub. This convergence of finance, innovation and sustainability promises to power India’s transition, strengthens local economies, create green jobs and ultimately shape the green trajectory of the next century not only for the Global South, but for the world.   Now is the time for policymakers, lenders, investors and corporations to take unified action. If India accelerates its green financing architecture with the same ambition as digital and infrastructure transformation, India could set a global benchmark for climate-led growth. The next century will be defined by those who fund the future and India is on the right track to lead the change.

Spent last week in #Singapore and #HongKong with HSBC Innovation Banking's Global Climate Tech team. One pattern held across every room: "climate" stalled most conversations. "Energy security" restarted them. Post Iran conflict, with the Philippines weeks from running out of oil, ESG language closes wallets fast. Reframe the same technology around security, cost, and reliability, and the tone shifts. A few things that stuck with me: 1️⃣ China is not slow, it has shifted. RMB now accounts for 90 percent of domestic VC and funding is growing. Energy storage deployment is up 300 percent year on year. Robotics doubled. The "copy to China" era is over; semiconductors, new materials, AI, robotics, and storage are where capital flows. The Deepseek moment pulled global investors back after a three year absence. It showed China has not just tech, but also talent. 2️⃣ Southeast Asia's 650 million population story is a trap. Real spending power sits in about 20 cities, combined GDP is Korea sized, and Series A to C is down 50 percent since 2022. Moonshots struggle outside Singapore. What works: incremental tech with 70 to 80% margins and short payback. 3️⃣ Singapore and Hong Kong are not interchangeable. Singapore is the regional HQ and grant machine. Hong Kong is the China gateway and Asia's top sustainable debt market, seven years running. Sophisticated founders and LPs run dual structures. 4️⃣ Singapore is putting real money behind net zero by 2050. The standout for founders is the new SPEED programme, sitting inside an SGD 800M Decarbonisation Grand Challenge and built to back first and second of a kind commercial deployments. The NCCS framing was sharp: Singapore wants to be a living laboratory for scaling #climatetech, not just a grant window. One of the boldest programs I've seen anywhere. Thanks Joel Tee for the great session. 5️⃣ Asia's 5,000 family offices are real capital, but only 10% operate institutionally. Most want to invest alongside funds with cap table access. The next generation is the actual lever for climate allocations. Low double digit returns with impact is the sweet spot. 6️⃣ The missing middle is everywhere. China bifurcates between pre seed and IPO. SEA has a Series A to C gap. That's where European deep tech can differentiate, if we show up with a day one global structure. Takeaway: European climate tech has a technology and credibility story Asia actively wants. It has to land in the local language of the market, which is security, cost, and scale. Singapore is also putting grant capital and pilot sites behind that framing. Huge thanks to Austin Badger, Matthew Hessey, Christopher Ames, Jonathan Yip, Thomas Miles, Kerri L., Natalie Blyth, Esohe Denise Odaro, Chaoni Huang, Alice Suen, Denisa Mulvihill and the wider HSBC team for a genuinely substantive week. Happy to go deeper on any of these topics. I'm in San Francisco this week for Climate Week, ping me if you're around. #venturecapital #innovation #APAC

Last week I caught up with some of our climatetech founders and the Wavemaker Impact team in Singapore. It reminded me how much Europe could learn from the pace, creativity, hunger and grit of emerging markets when it comes to building climate solutions. In South Asia, you don’t have the luxury of slow progress or “pilot purgatory.” Climate impacts hit hard and fast, so the innovation mindset is lean, practical and deeply connected to livelihoods. 1. The Green Discount Forget moonshots and massive R&D budgets. Across South Asia, founders are building cleaner and cheaper solutions that work now: modular, low-capex climatetech with real unit economics from day one, like turning waste into biofuel (Octayne) or agricultural residues into biochar (WasteX) while improving customer margins. ✅ Lesson for Europe: Move beyond the “green premium.” We don’t always need new tech; we need to deploy what already works, faster and at scale. 2. Decentralised Energy and Leapfrogging Like Africa skipped landlines to go mobile, South Asia is leapfrogging traditional grids with off-grid solar, microgrids and batteries replacing diesel, from Agros to Helios Solar Company Limited and SOLshare. ✅ Lesson for Europe: Distributed renewable energy isn’t just cleaner; it’s more resilient. Energy security in wartime or flood season may depend on it. 3. Nature-Based and Community-Led Solutions After decades of deforestation and degraded land, pioneering models are fighting back through community reforestation, mangrove restoration and regenerative agriculture. Ventures like Bumi Baru and Fair Ventures Social Forestry make nature profitable by working with local populations. ✅ Lesson for Europe: Climate action sticks when people have skin in the game. Build with communities, not just for them. 4. The Just Green Transition In emerging markets, climate isn’t a distant moral issue; it’s a development and equity issue. Policy conversations link emissions to jobs, food and public health. When clean tech creates livelihoods, people back the transition. ✅ Lesson for Europe: Embed justice, inclusion and affordability at the heart of the transition, not as an afterthought. 5. Adaptation and Resilience South Asia is among the most vulnerable regions to climate change and has no choice but to adapt: flood defences, early-warning systems, better weather data and climate-resilient crops. Ventures like Rize and Intensel Limited prove that resilience and profitability can coexist. ✅ Lesson for Europe: Don’t just decarbonise, adapt. Resilience is also an investment class. After more than two decades building start-ups across Asia, I’ve seen how constraint breeds creativity and urgency drives focus. Europe has the capital, talent and technology. Maybe it also needs a bit more of that emerging-market scrappiness and hunger. Because the truth is, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel. We just need to roll it faster. 🌍💚

50+ business opportunities from climate change adaptation and resilience🌍 The economic map of climate action is shifting quickly. Adaptation is moving from a side topic to a full marketplace with its own technologies, services, and solution clusters. The driver is clear. Physical risk is shaping decisions in companies, cities, and financial institutions. And this is opening a wave of commercial activity across food systems, infrastructure, health, water, energy, and biodiversity. The scale is expanding fast. Remote sensing, climate forecasting, resilient materials, cold resistant crops, atmospheric water harvesting, advanced cooling, and restoration services are entering mainstream planning. Each solution responds to a direct vulnerability created by a hotter and more volatile climate. The signal is impossible to ignore. The world crossed 1.5°C for the first time in 2024 and climate related losses have already exceeded $3T over the past 15 years. Risk is now operational. This is why adaptation investment keeps rising. Cooling technologies are scaling. Resilient construction materials are growing. Data driven climate analytics are advancing at 25 percent to 30 percent in several markets. The trajectory now mirrors the early expansion of mitigation but with wider reach across every sector. Instead of a few anchor technologies, we now see 60 plus adaptation opportunities forming a connected ecosystem. Each connected to essential functions such as safety, reliability, continuity, and protection. For business leaders, this shift is material. Adaptation is becoming a strategic capability. And understanding this landscape is now part of long term competitiveness. This is where the next wave of climate related value creation is emerging. Source: Already a Multi-Trillion-Dollar Market: CEO Guide to Growth in the Green Economy by the World Economic Forum and BCG #sustainability #sustainable #esg #climatechange

You think Silicon Valley is the future of climate tech? You couldn’t be more wrong... The most meaningful progress is happening far from the venture bubble, in small labs, research stations, and community workshops where the focus is on solving practical problems rather than chasing scale. 2025 has been a record year for climate tech investment. But the real story isn’t how much money is being raised. It’s what that money is building. The direction of innovation is shifting toward systems that are modular, verifiable, and built for real-world conditions. These technologies can be deployed quickly, maintained locally, and adapted to places that can’t wait for large infrastructure to arrive. 🌱 Releaf Earth (YC 2025) converts food waste into biochar that restores soil, locks carbon, and produces renewable power for local microgrids. Their portable reactors make it possible for small communities to build their own carbon markets. Biochar now accounts for more than 90 percent of all durable carbon removals delivered globally, showing how central this technology has become to practical decarbonization. 🌱 Modular Green Hydrogen startups in programs such as RMI’s accelerator are proving that hydrogen production doesn’t have to rely on billion-dollar plants. Their systems use renewables and recycled water to power rural transport and small industries, aligning closely with the U.S. 45Q incentive for low-carbon hydrogen. 🌱 Recyclable wind turbines built from bio-resins and nanocellulose are beginning to close the loop on renewable energy. They address a long-standing issue in the sector, how to manage the waste created when turbine blades reach the end of their life. 🌱 Bamboo-based cooling panels, now emerging from university and startup labs, use natural condensation to lower indoor temperatures without electricity. Early trials in Asia and Africa suggest they could offer low-cost cooling in regions already struggling with extreme heat and limited access to power. 🌱 AI and satellite mapping tools from companies such as Astraea are providing live, high-resolution data on climate risks. What used to take months of modeling can now be updated continuously, helping governments, insurers, and local planners make faster, better decisions. These examples point to a wider shift. Climate technology is no longer defined by size or spectacle. It is defined by systems that are reliable, measurable, and designed for real contexts. Policies like the European Union’s Carbon Removal Certification Framework are reinforcing this trend, directing investment toward solutions that can demonstrate genuine and lasting impact. The next phase of climate innovation will not be driven by how much it raises or how fast it scales. It will be judged by how well it works, consistently, locally, and over time.

🇫🇷 France isn’t just playing catch-up in climate tech — we’re setting the pace. After backing 72 climate startups and building the Techstars Sustainability Paris ecosystem from scratch, I’ve seen firsthand what real, long-term impact actually requires. Spoiler alert: it’s not just capital. In my recent conversation with Sarah Chen-Spellings on the Billion Dollar Moves Podcast, we talked about what it takes to build the next generation of climate solutions — and why 🇫🇷 France’s bold €54B commitment is such a game changer. Here are 3 big takeaways: 1️⃣ VC models must evolve. 10-year fund cycles and SaaS-style traction don’t fit the pace of climate hardware or deep tech. We’re talking microreactors, CO₂-into-fabrics, circular battery systems. These aren’t apps — they’re atomic. We need patient capital, not just fast exits. 2️⃣ Government + private sector = momentum. France2030 is more than a funding plan — it’s a roadmap. Sovereign backing (Bpifrance), deep corporate support (TotalEnergies, VINCI, Renault Group), and founders from around the world are finding a uniquely founder-ready ecosystem here. 3️⃣ Support doesn't stop after writing a check At Techstars, my belief is simple: be the constant in a founder’s journey. The real work starts after the accelerator ends and we invested. Building in climate takes a village — and a long view. 💥 Some standout French climate startups I’m watching: ✅ Back Market — circular electronics at scale ✅ Innovafeed — insect protein transforming agri-food systems ✅ Fairbrics — turning CO₂ into sustainable textiles ✅ Verkor — €2B gigafactory powering low-carbon EVs ✅ newcleo — reimagining nuclear with next-gen innovation Let’s fund the future, not just the fastest exits. 💬 Know a woman-led climate tech startup we should be watching? Drop it in the comments. 🔗 Full episode link in comments! #France2030 #ClimateTech #DeepTech #Techstars #BillionDollarMoves #ImpactInvesting #VC #Sustainability #WomenInClimate #ParisTech #BeyondTheBillion

As the physical impacts of #climatechange intensify, climate #adaptation is emerging as a vital and complementary investment theme alongside decarbonisation. New analysis suggests that global annual revenues from selected adaptation solutions could grow from US$1 trillion today to US$4 trillion by 2050, with US$2 trillion of that growth directly driven by the impacts of global warming. The associated investment opportunity across public and private markets - spanning equity and debt - is projected to expand from US$2 trillion to US$9 trillion, including US$3 trillion in incremental growth tied to #climaterisks. This shift will drive growth in both emerging technologies, such as weather intelligence and forecasting tools, and established solutions like climate-resilient infrastructure and materials. Notably, these estimates are conservative - assuming largely reactive adaptation. A shift toward anticipatory, risk-informed planning could unlock even greater opportunities, accelerating both revenue growth and capital flows well before 2050. While decarbonisation remains essential to mitigating future climate risks, climate adaptation addresses the urgent need to withstand current and projected impacts. Together, they offer distinct yet complementary pathways for long-term investors to contribute to and benefit from the transition to a more resilient, sustainable world.  #ClimateAdaptation #SustainableInvestment #Decarbonisation #Resilience #ImpactInvesting #LongTermCapital https://lnkd.in/dNC48Aeb

We tend to talk about climate through the lens of “𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.” But lately I've been thinking about the opportunity that lies in 𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞. 𝘍𝘪𝘳𝘴𝘵, 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥-𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨:  🛑 𝐌𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 tackles the root causes of climate change by reducing or slowing down emissions (e.g., increasing energy efficiency, renewable energy, etc). 🌍🛡️𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 (A&R) are about preparing for and reducing climate impacts (e.g., early warning systems, drought-resistant crops) and enabling recovery from climate shocks (e.g., flood and fire insurance). 𝘉𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘮. 𝘈𝘴 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘠𝘊 𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘞𝘦𝘦𝘬, 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 3 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘢𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 1️⃣ 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐀&𝐑 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭:  Research from Tailwind Futures shows that while pure A&R startups (e.g., climate risk analytics, disaster preparedness) make up 12% of climate tech ventures, they only receive 3%, or about $4.5B, of total funding. The imbalance underscores the capital gap—and opportunity—to strengthen communities and industries for the realities of a changing climate. 2️⃣ 𝐀𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐀&𝐑 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬:  Investors highlighted promising A&R investment opportunities, such as: ♦ Insuretech (e.g., FutureProof Technologies which offers property-specific insurance solutions that encourage proactive climate risk mitigation). ♦ Better data, analytics and predictive models (e.g., Sand Technology which applies AI to disaster response, healthcare, and water waste). ♦ Resilient construction materials (e.g., DexMat, developer of resilient, sustainable construction materials). As CEO Bryan Hassin put it, “𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘥𝘢𝘺." 3️⃣ 𝐂𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐀&𝐑: Hunter Maats, CEO of Resilience Investments, noted, “𝘊𝘭𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 21𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘺.” Jay Koh, Co-Founder of the The Lightsmith Group Group, emphasized that adaptation “𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵—𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘩 𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴, 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦.” These quotes illustrate how social and environmental considerations are interwoven in climate mitigation and adaption and require a systems view. ❓ What else should we be paying attention to related to climate adaptation? #climateweek #climateweek2025 #UNGA #climateadaptation #impactinvesting #impinv #socialimpact CASE at Duke

🚨 If your climate startup only works with subsidies, it’s a policy bet — not a venture bet. On this episode of Nothing Ventured, I sat down with Harry Morgan (Principal, 7percent Ventures) and we went straight at the uncomfortable truths in climate + deep tech. No victory laps, just what actually scales. Here’s the gist 👇 🔭 Ambition > polish Back founders shooting for physics-level step changes, not 10% tweaks. Big TAM, hard tech, real go-to-market. If it can’t be huge, why bother? ♻️ “Green” isn’t enough Climate hardware has longer timelines. Fine. But the winners are better and cheaper — not “please love us for our ESG score.” Subsidies can kickstart adoption; they can’t be the thesis. Show me cost curves, reliability, and a route to margins. 🧪 Deep tech ≠ science fair Prototype is day 0. Industrialisation, supply chain, safety, and sales motions matter more than your demo day standing ovation. 📉 Social mobility is broken in VC Talent is evenly distributed; access isn’t. Harry’s work with Social Mobility Ventures lays it bare: who gets funded still doesn’t match who’s out there building. Fixing that isn’t charity — it’s how you find non-obvious outliers. If you invest in climate or build in deep tech, this one’s for you. We get specific, we get contrarian, and we don’t sugar-coat it. 🎧 Full episode — link in comments and join over forty thousand venture curious subscribers listening to the people behind the stories that make the venture capital ecosystem go around 🙌🏾