KARACHI: Geothermal Pakistan from Karachi has won the Stimulus-ClimateLaunchpad Pakistan’s first edition.
ClimateLaunchpad is the world’s largest ‘green business ideas’ competition with the mission to unlock the world’s clean-tech potential that addresses climate change.
Pakistan was competing for the first time in the ClimateLaunchpad programme, wherein more than 50 other countries participated.
The competition attracted 100 clean-tech entrepreneurs from across the country. The top 20 teams competed to determine two best teams that will represent Pakistan in the Global Final, to be held later this year.
Among other participants, ‘Goats for Water’ and ‘Fruges’, both from Karachi, stood second and third in the competition respectively.
Speaking on the occasion, Vice Admiral (r) Syed Arifullah Hussaini maintained that climate change is Pakistan’s No. 1 security risk at the moment.
“Progress is being made in all aspects of life but there is a need to understand the reality that ‘we cannot fight nature’,” he remarked.
Geothermal Pakistan Founder Mohammad Hassam said the technology that they are offering brings electricity cost of air-conditioners down by 40pc through “underground cooling” mechanism. The NUST graduate said that the single-unit installation costs around Rs150,000, including underground boring.
ClimateLaunchpad Pakistan’s National Lead Hira Wajahat said with the first edition of the ClimateLaunchpad competition in Pakistan, it is clear that climate change challenges also offer massive business opportunities.
“Over 100 clean-tech entrepreneurs submitted their ideas and the top 20 presented their business pitch. We are excited about these entrepreneurs finding commercial, scalable solutions in a variety of market segments and getting ready for global impact,” she said.
Simultaneous to the competition, the organisers had also arranged a Pakistan Clean-Tech Innovation Conference to deliberate upon critical climate concepts that have a direct impact on Pakistan’s economy and its national well-being.
Speakers from various industries shared their experiences and thoughts on steps that need to be taken to overcome these challenges.
Speaking on the occasion, Federal Minister and Advisor to Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam said Pakistan, being a responsible member of the global community, takes its role seriously in combating climate change.
“The Ministry of Climate Change is giving due importance to mitigation efforts in sectors such as mobility and transport, forestry, industries, energy, urban planning, agriculture and livestock etc. And these efforts require innovation – new ways of thinking about old problems, and invention – new solutions to existing challenges,” he said.
The minister stated that it is encouraging to see the efforts of organizations like Stimulus in supporting the programmes such as ClimateLaunchpad to introduce and promote business start-ups in the country through green-business and clean-tech innovation.
Lucky Cement Executive Director Noman Hasan said that his company places the promotion of environmental sustainability at the highest echelon among business practices.
Shell Pakistan’s External Relations Head Habib Haider said that the transition to lower-carbon energy will feature enormous change in the types of products and services Pakistani consumers need.
“This competition is the perfect example of how we can achieve the shift to a lower-carbon future by bringing together the entrepreneurial innovations needed for this change. The challenge of tackling climate change can only be met through unprecedented collaboration,” he said.
