New Delhi, November 24, 2022: Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (Shakti), in collaboration with Intellecap Advisory Solutions launched the Challenge Fund with an objective to strengthen and help accelerate the work of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) committed to climate action in India.
CSOs stand at the core of the fight against climate change by tackling the climate crisis in India on various fronts. Recognising CSOs as a dynamic source of strategic and innovative climate action, the ACCLIMATE Challenge Fund aims to provide capacity building opportunities in areas that include electric mobility, green hydrogen, sustainable transport, industries, cooling, net-zero buildings, agriculture, coastal ecosystems, and climate finance, using a cross-sectoral approach. It will seek to facilitate general operating support and bespoke capacity building and mentorship for shortlisted organizations for a duration of two years.
The Challenge Fund aims to stimulate tailored responses to local context-specific problems by tapping into local knowledge and creative capacity which is often the forte of CSOs who are deeply immersed in the context. The fund will engage and channel additional resources into organizations to initiate, implement and evaluate activities in a specialised field of climate mitigation. In many cases, such support has a significant impact on the effectiveness of these organisations in fulfilling their missions.
ACCLIMATE seeks to engage with:
1) CSOs with an exclusive focus on climate action who want to expand into new sectors.
2) CSOs working in areas such as economic research, industrial competitiveness, rural development, urban planning, poverty alleviation, education, etc. who are looking to expand their work by building capacity on climate action.
The first phase of the Challenge Fund aims to build technical capacities of CSOs to work on climate change mitigation across two thematic areas of intervention—Policy Research and Analysis and Strategic Communications.
Speaking about the launch, Dr Anshu Bharadwaj, CEO, Shakti Foundation, said, “Fighting climate change needs the contribution of all critical stakeholders, especially civil society organizations who are at the forefront of implementing solutions at the last mile. Through the ACCLIMATE fund, we would like to leverage and maximise the impact of the work done by these organizations by building their technical capabilities in the climate change space. We anticipate that these grants will help them to strengthen their operations and enhance their impact. Shakti would like to create a network of capable partners to build high quality evidence at the grassroots level, and make climate change an important priority at the local and state government levels. This will help us to design and build contextualised implementation strategies based on local knowledge and expertise.”
Vikas Bali, CEO, Intellecap said about the Fund, “Intellecap’s uniqueness lies in its ability to traverse both the realms of civil society and business with equal ease. Through the ACCLIMATE Fund, Shakti and Intellecap will seek to build meaningful partnerships with CSOs, who are many-a-times the implementers of solutions. We are glad to partner with Shakti, one of our closest compatriots towards our journey towards a sustainable future for the global south.”
As part of its mission to to facilitate India’s transition to a cleaner energy Shakti, through the Challenge Fund, aims to stimulate tailored responses to local context-specific problems by tapping into local knowledge and creative capacity by engaging and channelling additional resources to initiate, implement and evaluate activities in a specialised field of the climate mitigation.
The Challenge Fund invites CSOs to develop innovative and pathbreaking solutions centred around the two thematic areas of policy and research, and strategic communication mentioned above and submit their applications here.
The applications for the fund are open for organizations across India.
The last date to submit applications is 15th December, 2022.
About Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation
Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation is an enabler for clean energy and sustainability solutions. We work with policy makers, civil society, industry, think tanks, and academia to identify and scale energy system interventions that will reduce GHG emissions and tackle climate change. For more information, visit www.shaktifoundation.in
About Intellecap
Intellecap, a part of the Aavishkaar Group, is a pioneer in building enabling ecosystems and channeling capital to create and nurture a sustainable & equitable society. Founded in 2002, Intellecap works across critical sectors like Agriculture, Livelihoods, Climate Change, Clean Energy, Financial Services, Gender & Inclusion, Healthcare, Water and Sanitation, and has delivered over 500+ global engagements across 40+ countries and syndicated investments of over $1,1 Billion USD in Capital. Intellecap through its presence in India and Africa, provides a broad range of Consulting, Research and Investment Banking Services, to Multilateral Agencies, Development Finance Institutions, Social Enterprises, Corporations, Investors, Policy Makers and Donors. Our common action platform, Sankalp Forum, one of the largest global inclusive development platforms, brings together the ecosystem to shape the way markets work for delivering the SDGs 2030.
For more information, please contact
Atima Mankotia
Director–Communications
Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation
atima@shaktifoundation.in