TRANSFORM Climate Challenge – in collaboration with Climate Innovation Fund by SAJIDA Foundation and British Asian Trust

The TRANSFORM Climate Challenge is an initiative that aims to identify and support enterprises working on climate resilience and is specifically looking for innovations addressing plastic circularity. If you work in this area…

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Programme Overview

TRANSFORM is an impact accelerator led by Unilever, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and EY, providing business insights alongside funding. It supports early-stage business models and behaviour change interventions to deliver low-income household needs sustainably.

There is a growing opportunity for social enterprises to build climate resilience through innovative business models including regenerative agriculture, water, sanitation, hygiene and circularity-based business models. The aim of the TRANSFORM Climate Challenge, in collaboration with the Climate Innovation Fund, is to identify such solutions and help them scale. Our partners at Climate Innovation Fund have already received applications in the areas of regenerative agriculture, water and hygiene and so we are delighted to extend its scope to include plastics circularity.

Applications are now open!

We invite Bangladeshi social enterprises working on novel solutions that address at least one of the following areas to apply:

• Improve the collection and processing of plastic waste, while integrating informal waste workers into the value chain
• Implement innovative technologies/business models to enhance recycling capabilities for plastic waste, particularly for flexible plastics

How to Apply

Please complete and submit the application form, which can be accessed through this link: http://bit.ly/3QCahCX

The application form contains templates for the following documents:

• Proposal
• Project plan and budget tool

Applicants are requested to download the templates and upload the completed documents as attachments along with the application form.

The deadline for submission is 15th December 2023 by 5:00pm Bangladesh Standard Time.

Once the initial screening is complete, the shortlisted enterprises will be guided by leaders from Unilever Bangladesh to prepare for a final pitch session. This final pitch will be evaluated by a grand jury that will take place in January 2024.

For any inquiries regarding the application, kindly email to transform.cif@sajida.org

Program Offerings

Successful applicants will receive:

Financial support

• A grant of up to £70,000 from TRANSFORM. Grants will be provided for operational expenses and bringing about behavioural change, etc. It will not cover capital expenses.

Market Access and Scale up support

• Opportunities to work with various functions across the value chain of Unilever Bangladesh.

• Guidance from experts, specialists and sector leaders, especially from EY teams, for developing the product market fit and go-to-market strategy.

• Access to TRANSFORM and its partners’ wide network of public/private organisations and facilitation of introduction, where required.

Fundraising support

• Access to TRANSFORM’s large and diverse investor and donor network.

Networking Opportunity

• Exposure to the wider network of stakeholders (corporates, government agencies, international development agencies etc.) as well as high visibility opportunities offered by TRANSFORM, through its partners Unilever, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and EY.

Knowledge Services

• Curated set of capacity building and knowledge sessions with qualified industry experts to augment understanding of product – market fit.
• Monitoring and evaluation technical assistance to evidence socio-economic impact.

Timeline

November 1st, 2023: Applications open

December 15th, 2023: Applications deadline

By December 31st, 2023: First round of evaluations

January 2024: Grand Jury round

April 2024: Announcement of selected enterprises

TRANSFORM

TRANSFORM is a unique joint initiative between Unilever, the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) and EY. Established in 2015, it works to accelerate impact enterprises, blending funding and support to deliver market-based solutions to the world’s biggest development challenges. 

Climate Innovation Fund

SAJIDA Foundation and The British Asian Trust have launched the Climate Innovation Fund – an ambitious fund that aims to identify and support innovative local solutions working to build greater resilience to the impacts of climate change on agriculture, food security, water security, and livelihoods in Bangladesh. With an initial commitment of USD 1 Million, the fund aims to mobilise further funding and partnerships in this sector.

Contact us

For any assistance needed in filling out the application form, please reach out to us.

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