Greenovation Urban Climate Resilience Challenge 2026 – EarthON Foundation

The Greenovation Urban Climate Resilience Challenge 2026 is a climate innovation challenge designed to identify, support, and scale impactful solutions addressing urban climate resilience challenges across India. The initiative is jointly organized by EarthON Foundation and Greenovation Hub to empower startups, innovators, and social entrepreneurs building scalable climate-focused solutions for Indian cities.

The challenge focuses on affordable, contextually relevant, and implementation-ready innovations that can strengthen resilience against urban climate risks such as heat stress, air pollution, water scarcity, waste management issues, and climate-linked livelihood vulnerabilities. The initiative specifically encourages solutions applicable to the Indian urban context and capable of delivering measurable environmental and social impact.

The challenge spans multiple climate and sustainability themes including:

• Heat resilience and climate-resilient infrastructure
• Air quality and sustainable mobility
• Climate-safe livelihoods and inclusion
• Water and food systems
• Climate data and climate finance solutions

According to the challenge overview, participants may receive up to ₹20 lakh in non-dilutive award funding along with the opportunity to secure investment support of up to ₹1 crore in equity or debt financing.

Apart from funding, the program offers a broader incubation and ecosystem support structure including residential bootcamps, mentorship, scale-up support, technical guidance, and access to a national climate innovation network. Selected startups also gain visibility opportunities through EarthON Foundation’s climate platforms and partner ecosystem.

The challenge is particularly targeted toward startups and social enterprises that already possess prototypes, pilot-tested solutions, or market-ready products. This indicates a preference for implementation-stage climate innovations rather than purely conceptual ideas.

From a founder’s perspective, this opportunity is especially valuable for climate-tech, sustainability, urban innovation, and impact-driven startups seeking non-dilutive funding, ecosystem credibility, investor exposure, and implementation support for scaling climate resilience solutions across Indian cities.

Offerings / Benefits:

• Up to ₹20 lakh in non-dilutive award funding
• Opportunity to secure investment up to ₹1 crore
• Residential bootcamp
• Mentorship and incubation support
• Scale-up guidance
• Technical assistance
• Monitoring & evaluation support
• Access to national climate innovation networks
• Visibility through climate platforms and ecosystem partners
• Connections across Indian cities and climate ecosystems

Sectors Supported:

1. Heat Resilience
2. Climate-safe Infrastructure
3. Air Quality Solutions
4. Clean Mobility
5. Waste Management
6. Water Systems
7. Urban Farming
8. Climate Fintech
9. Climate Data Platforms
10. Carbon Credit Platforms
11. Livelihood & Inclusion Solutions
12. Nature-based Solutions