16 Climate Adaptation Startups from Asia and Africa Selected

18 April 2022. Village Capital and The Lightsmith Group (“Lightsmith”) announced today that 16 startups were selected to participate in a new environmental accelerator called “ASAP”, or the Adaptation SME Accelerator Project, focused on innovative climate adaptation ventures in Asia and Africa. 

The 16 startups were selected from more than 300 applicants and have developed technologies in water, agriculture, risk analytics, supply chain, infrastructure, and insurance that can support adaptation and resilience to climate change.

During the ASAP accelerator program, the 16 companies will work with industry experts, investors, and ecosystem partners to develop the networks and tools they need to attract investment, grow their businesses, and increase their climate adaptation impacts. More information can be found here.

“Through the ASAP Accelerator, we aim to help these entrepreneurs to scale their impact and connect to a global network working to develop solutions that address the impacts of climate change," Brian Parham, ASAP Program Director at Lightsmith.

ASAP is a grant-funded initiative led by The Lightsmith Group, in partnership with Village Capital, and with the support of the Global Environment Facility’s Special Climate Change Fund. Additional support is provided by Conservation International and the Inter-American Development Bank.

The cohort is composed of:

Asia

Absolute Water (India) increases the availability and quality of water in areas projected to experience water stress by organically treating and converting raw sewage wastewater into potable water through a system that naturally degrades pollutants and converts it into nutrients. Builds resilience to: increased drought and water scarcity that affect residential and commercial water use. (Water Management)

Agtuall (India) provides affordable crop price risk management solutions for smallholder farmers across the world. Their end-to-end data analytics platform increases the resilience of smallholder farmers by assessing the frequency and intensity of natural calamities and their impacts on crop yields and price. Builds resilience to: extreme weather events and weather volatility that affect crop yields, crop prices, and farmer incomes. (Agriculture, Risk Analytics/ Management, Insurance)

Aumsat Technologies LLP (India) provides satellite-based, AI-enabled hydrological analysis for locating, predicting, and forecasting groundwater resources. Their services help detect groundwater zones remotely, without fieldwork, helping farmers identify the optimum location for digging a well with high precision, less effort, and at lower cost. Builds resilience to: increased drought and water scarcity that affect crop irrigation. (Water)

Crop2X Private Limited (Pakistan) is a precision agritech startup that provides weather forecast and
water information that can help farmers increase production while minimizing inputs. This enables farmers to adapt to changing climatic conditions due to climate change. Builds resilience to: extreme weather events and weather volatility that affect crop yields and farmer incomes. (Agriculture, Risk Analytics/Management)

EF Polymer Private Limited (India) Since opening in 2018, EF Polymer has successfully developed, tested, and piloted 100% Organic Super Absorbent Polymer. EF Polymer is an organic Super Absorbent Polymer made by biowaste from juice shops. It is useful to reduce the irrigation water & fertilizer requirement and help to get more yield without affecting the soil and crop. The product can enhance soil health by providing micronutrients and maintain the moisture content along with helping the growth of microbe which is almost at zero level due to the high usage of chemical fertilizer. As a result, irrigation water requirement is reduced after 10-12 days with this water-retaining natural polymer which can absorb 100 times more water.

Hiraya Water (Philippines) provides AI-driven smart water management products and services for developing markets, helping water utilities optimize their operations – reducing water loss, reducing power consumption and improving service levels. Builds resilience to: increased drought and water scarcity that affect drinking water availability and price. (Water Management)

Komunidad Global Pte Ltd (Singapore, Philippines) is an environmental intelligence platform which helps businesses and governments use earth observation data and analytics to accurately assess physical risks and improve resilience. Their clients are in agriculture, insurance, ports and harbors, construction companies, schools, and government. Builds resilience to: extreme weather events, flooding, and other climate-related events that affect  governments and businesses in various sectors. (Risk Analytics and Management)

Ship60 (Vietnam) Ship60 is building a LogTec platform to provde the fulfillment solutions. Ship60 connects with logistics service providers such as warehousing and delivery services, applies technology platforms to create a unified ecosystem and digitizes logistics processes.

Africa

Agromyx (Ghana) helps smallholder farmers reduce food waste and generate additional income by turning non-marketable post-harvest crops into shelf-stable and nutritious food products. Reducing post-harvest food losses helps to build a more resilient agricultural system and global food supply chain. Builds resilience to: drought, heat stress, and extreme weather events that reduce crop yields, harm farmer incomes, and increase food insecurity. (Agriculture/Food Waste)

Cadel Consulting Ltd (Burkina Faso) produces phospho-compost, an organic fertilizer that helps in restoring degraded land, a problem faced by 85% of farmers in Burkina Faso. The company also distributes improved seed from other companies and trains farmers on smart farming practices. Builds resilience to: drought, heat stress, and extreme weather events that reduce crop yields and degrade arable land. (Agriculture)

Congretype (South Africa) Congretype is a Green Project Developer and Consulting Company in generating cleaner, more affordable energy, conserving it and contributing to a greener, more sustainable environment. These business activities have a particular focus on the following sub-sectors:Renewable energy and rural electrification; Cogeneration and decentralized energy systems; Biogas production and energy recovery from wastewater, landfill and MSW ; Energy efficiency; Biofuels; Climate Change, Greenhouse Gas (GHG) mitigation/adaptation, and, GHG Accounting.

Freezelink (Ghana) delivers cold chain logistics services to reduce food waste and enhance food security and to increase the availability of medicine in Africa. Builds resilience to: extreme heat and extreme weather events that reduce crop yields, worsen food waste, and increase food insecurity. (Cold Chain Logistics Services and Infrastructure)

Kitovu Technology (Nigeria) provides smallholder farmers with data about soil and crop health, storage and market links, through a digital farm productivity platform. Builds resilience to: drought, heat stress, and extreme weather events that reduce crop yields and harm farmer incomes. (Agriculture)

Rwanda Bio Solution (Rwanda) produces organic fertilizers using Effective Microorganism (EM) technology. The process recycles crop waste into organic fertilizer, helping farmers improve soil fertility, reduce disease, and increase their yields. Builds resilience to: drought, heat stress, and extreme weather events that reduce crop yields, degrade arable land, and harm farmer incomes. (Agriculture)

Worldtech Consult (Ghana) designs, manufactures and installs solar powered walk-in cold rooms to extend the shelf life of agricultural products and temperature-sensitive materials, enhancing food system resilience and minimizing losses. Builds resilience to: extreme heat and extreme weather events that reduce crop yields, worsen food waste, and increase food insecurity. (Agriculture, Supply Chain, Transportation, Logistics, and Infrastructure)

ZR3I (Egypt) is a precision agriculture platform-as-a-service that offers crop monitoring, management, and insurance services to the agriculture sector in Egypt and the Arab world, helping farmers to mitigate risks due to climate change. Builds resilience to: extreme weather events and weather volatility that reduce crop yields and harm farmer incomes. (Agriculture, Risk Management, Insurance)

For more information, reach out to Ben Wrobel at Village Capital or Brian Parham at Lightsmith.

About the Partners

• Village Capital helps entrepreneurs bring big ideas from vision to scale. So far, VC has supported more than 1,400 early-stage startups and invested in more than 110 program graduates. 
• The Lightsmith Group is an investment firm investing in companies that address critical societal needs. For more information, please see: www.lightsmithgp.com and for the ASAP project, please see: www.climateasap.org.

Related:

22 April 2022. Investor forum ASAP Accelerator - investor forum for these companies  in 2 slots.

1. Slot 1 - Absolute Water, Agtuall, Congretype, Freezelink, Hiraya Water, Komunidad Global, Ship60, Worldtech Consult.
2. Slot 2 - Agromyx, Aumsat, Cadel Consulting, Crop2X, EF Polymer, Kitovu Technology, Rwanda Bio Solution, Zr3i