Women4Climate Tech Challenge

About the Tech Challenge

The Women4Climate Tech Challenge is an international contest open to women carrying out an innovative tech solution for climate action in cities. Complementary to the Women4Climate Mentorship Programme, the Tech Challenge is open to all C40 Cities and promotes concrete solutions with a measurable impact. The key goal of the Tech Challenge is to promote, experiment, and implement women-led climate innovation in C40 cities. It provides the winners with support and acceleration from C40 & partners; and the opportunity to pilot solutions in C40 cities.

City-inspired innovation is crucial to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse emissions in cities but to achieve gender-inclusive climate action we need more women bringing their perspectives and experiences into decision-making processes and participating in the ideation, conception, experimentation and implementation of innovation. Without this, we will build a future that lacks the perspectives and experiences of half the world’s population.

Tech Challenge 2020

The 2nd C40 Women4Climate Tech Challenge will select women-led innovative tech solution for climate with a measurable impact to experiment them in C40 cities.

C40 cities joining the Tech Challenge commit to pilot the winning solution and contribute to the selection by participating in the expert jury panel, which will select the finalists, as well as in the mayoral and city official jury panel, which will select the winners.

Innovators, entrepreneurs and startups selected to be finalists and winners will be eligible to receive financial or technical support from C40 and their partners, plus acceleration or implementation in C40 Cities. C40 support will be custom-designed for each solution, depending on the project’s level of maturity and the needs: acceleration; incubation; residence within the city; urban space for experimentation; co-design of experimentations on citizens/users.

Challenge Themes

The cities committed to pilot the winning innovative solutions are interested in the following thematic areas:

• Adaptation and risk cities response
• Healthy public buildings
• Green and healthier streets

For more information on each thematic focus and the issues, they hope to solve, see the Call for Applications guidelines.

Participating Cities

After a successful first edition in Paris and Tel Aviv-Yafo, the 2019-20 Tech Challenge has expanded to even more C40 cities.

• Los Angeles will consider applications for ‘Healthy Public Buildings’
• Lisbon will consider applications for ‘Healthy Public Buildings’ and ‘Green & Healthier Streets’
• Stockholm will consider applications for ‘Green & Healthier Streets’
• Tel Aviv-Yafo will consider applications for ‘Adaptation & Risk Cities Response’ and ‘Green & Healthier Streets’

Applicants can apply from anywhere in the world as their solutions can be piloted in any city, but please note that cities will only select one winner project to be piloted in their city. To review the 2018-19 Women4Climate Tech Challenge in Paris and Tel Aviv-Yafo, and information on past winners, see here.

Funding for Tech Challenge Winners

To increase the climate impact of the winners of the Tech Challenge C40 has secured $40,000 in funding to be split amongst the winners and used to support their experimental phase. The support provided will need to comply with C40’s requirements as a 501(c)3 public charity, in that respect C40 will work with the winners to determine how to utilize the funds for the purpose of the experimentation.

We welcome applications from all adult women, including but not limited to students, innovators, and professionals. C40 uses an inclusive definition of “woman” and “female”; transwomen, genderqueer women, and non-binary people who identify have identified or have been identified as female or woman are welcome to apply. All applications should be submitted in English. Applicants may be from anywhere in the world, as their solutions can be piloted in any city. Participating cities are listed at the base of the page.

The deadline for applications is January 31, 2020, 11pm GMT.

Watch the winner pitch of the Women4Climate Tech Challenge – 2019

Women4Climate Tech Challenge