RELEASE: P4G Awards $3.8M to 14 Climate Startups Driving Green Innovation in Emerging Markets

WASHINGTON (October 1, 2025) - Today, World Resources Institute's Partnering for Green Growth and the Global Goals 2030 (P4G) awarded $3.8 million in grants and technical assistance to 14 climate startups across Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. This funding will help these early-stage businesses grow breakthrough solutions - from clean cooling systems in Vietnam to water-absorbing pavers in Indonesia, and solar-powered dryers for agricultural crops in Kenya - making them investment-ready to accelerate green growth in emerging markets.

Mobilizing climate finance is one of the most urgent priorities of our time. Achieving this requires unprecedented investment in innovative solutions that can rapidly reduce emissions, build resilience and support a just transition for communities around the world. Yet in emerging markets, startups with promising solutions often face steep barriers to growth.

While graduation rates from early-stage funding - commonly known as seed - to their first major investment round (Series A) average 20-30% in developed markets, they drop to around 10% in Latin America and just 5% in Africa. Common challenges include financial modeling, preparing investor documentation and developing effective pitch and marketing materials.

P4G bridges these gaps by pairing startups with nonprofits and technical experts to strengthen their business models, ESG strategies and market positioning. Through its National Platforms - public-private coalitions at the country level - P4G also connects startups with government agencies, facilitates policy dialogues and hosts workshops to foster a more enabling environment for climate businesses.

"Climate startups are powerful engines of innovation and play a key role in accelerating the transition to a low-carbon future," said Robyn McGuckin, Executive Director, P4G. "From working closely with these entrepreneurs, we've seen how targeted funding and hands-on support can unlock their full potential - helping them scale faster, create jobs, boost local economies and deliver climate solutions that the world can't afford to wait for."

One of the newly funded partnerships, VOX Cool - ASSIST Vietnam, will use its funds to scale "Cold Battery" technology - an affordable, low-emission cooling solution that stores thermal energy for when it's needed most. By ensuring reliable, energy-efficient refrigeration, it cuts electricity costs, reduces fossil fuel reliance and prevents food spoilage.

"We are scaling a technology that not only reduces food loss and emissions in Vietnam but can also serve as a model for how emerging markets build more efficient and cleaner cold chain systems," said Dr. Khoa Le, co-founder and CEO, VOX Cool. "With P4G's support, we can scale faster, create greater value for farmers and businesses, and demonstrate how innovative cooling can drive both economic growth and climate action."

Other partnerships receiving funding include:

• Parsons Kinetics - ACOSOL - patented wind turbines inspired by the aerodynamics of the Varasanta tree seed in Colombia.
• ReservoAir - Kopernik - porous pavers that absorb water 100x faster than conventional paver and reduces the risk of flooding in Indonesia.
• Synnefa - Solidaridad - Solar dryers that use smart technology to cut agricultural crop drying time from weeks to just 2-3 days in Kenya.

These startups provide real-world evidence of what works to tackle pressing challenges in food systems, energy, transport and water, helping to attract private sector investment and de-risk the climate innovation space.

Since 2018, P4G-backed partnerships have leveraged this support to raise over $211 million in commercial investments, create over 17,000 green jobs, produce nearly 7.9 million metric liters of clean water, reclaim more than 130,000 metric tons of waste and revitalize over 307,000 hectares of land with climate smart agricultural practices. These outcomes underscore P4G's long-term commitment to catalyzing green growth and scaling market-based climate solutions in emerging economies.

P4G received 167 applications for this round of funding. An Independent Grants Committee, comprising climate and impact investing experts, evaluated the shortlisted partnerships to select the final recipients. The new partnerships will focus on advancing impact in Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, South Africa and Vietnam.

Explore the full list of partnerships here.

About P4G

P4G helps early-stage climate startups in emerging markets and developing economies become investment ready. We provide startups with grants and technical assistance, and partner them with national level public-private platforms to help navigate the marketplace. Through this approach, P4G strengthens market systems for climate entrepreneurs and accelerates just and resilient country economic transitions. Hosted by World Resources Institute and funded by Denmark, the Netherlands and the Republic of Korea, P4G accelerates food, water and energy partnerships in Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, South Africa and Vietnam. To learn more, visit https://www.p4gpartnerships.org.

About World Resources Institute

WRI works to improve people's lives, protect and restore nature and stabilize the climate. As an independent research organization, we leverage our data, expertise and global reach to influence policy and catalyze change across systems like food, land and water; energy; and cities. Our 2,000+ staff work on the ground in more than a dozen focus countries and with partners in over 50 nations.

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