GREENOVATION
Renewable Energy for Livelihood Challenge
Cooling, Purifying, and Preserving India’s Rural Economy through Clean Energy
An EarthON Initiative in Collaboration with Greenovation Hub
Challenge Overview
The Greenovation Renewable Energy for Livelihood Challenge identifies, supports, and scales clean energy innovations that are affordable, contextually relevant, and built for India’s most underserved rural and peri-urban communities. The Challenge seeks early-stage innovations, prototypes, and market-ready solutions that are practical, scalable, and deeply rooted in local contexts, addressing critical gaps across cold chain, water access, productive livelihoods, system reliability, and rural enterprise support, while generating evidence for real-world adoption and scale.
Win Up to ₹20 Lakh in Non-Dilutive Award Funding
Problem Statement
India loses ₹61,000 crore in fisheries and 30–40% of horticultural produce annually due to poor cold chain infrastructure and energy gaps, while 60 crore people face severe water issues. These systemic failures impact smallholder farmers, women entrepreneurs, and marginalised communities by the current innovation and investment ecosystems.
The Greenovation Renewable Energy for Livelihood Challenge addresses this by backing distributed renewable energy solutions tailored for rural India. The initiative aims to reduce post-harvest waste and strengthen livelihoods by making clean, productive energy accessible and affordable for the country’s most vulnerable producers.
Solutions We Are Looking For
Cold Chain, Storage and Preservation
Solar cold rooms, solar-powered fish and food preservation, decentralised pre-cooling systems, refrigerated rural transport solutions
Irrigation and Water Access
Solar-powered water purification systems, community-scale drinking water solutions, decentralised water treatment units, smart water quality monitoring tools
Productive Use and Rural Livelihoods
DRE-powered livelihood equipment, pay-per-use energy services, smallholder-first energy solutions, energy systems for income generation
Operations and Service Ecosystems
Predictive maintenance tools, local repair and servicing models, remote monitoring systems, performance optimisation platforms
Women-Led Enterprises
Empower women-led DRE enterprises through improved access to finance, entrepreneurial capacity-building, and inclusion in climate-smart business models.
Data and Finance
Develop digital platforms for DRE performance monitoring and payments, alongside decision-support and planning tools that enable better investment and policy choices.
Challenge Features & Benefits
More than just funding – we provide comprehensive support to help you succeed
Catalytic Award Funding: Selected winners receive up to Rs 20 lakh in non-dilutive catalytic funding to implement and scale their solutions
Capacity Building and Residential Bootcamp: Participants access structured capacity-building sessions, including an immersive 3-day residential bootcamp covering technical, operational, and strategic skills
EarthON Gurukul Pathway: High-potential participants may join EarthON Gurukul, a structured incubation programme offering mentorship, growth support, and potential equity or debt investment through the EarthON Fund
Visibility and Networking: Participants showcase their work directly to policymakers, investors, and industry leaders across the clean energy, rural livelihoods, and climate ecosystem
Challenge Outcomes
- A cohort of trained innovators actively piloting DRE solutions across cold chain, water access, rural livelihoods, and enterprise systems
- A validated portfolio of business, technical, and community adoption models for DRE solutions at the grassroots level
- A robust network of partners, investors, and stakeholders committed to advancing distributed renewable energy for food, water, and livelihoods in India
- A publicly available evidence report documenting learnings, models, and recommendations for policymakers and investors on scaling DRE solutions across rural India
Who should Apply
Startups and social entrepreneurs developing technologies or business models for any of the listed problem statements
Solutions in prototype, pilot-tested, or market-ready stages
Founders committed full-time to the proposed solution
Solutions applicable to the Indian urban context
Registered within the last 10 years
Who should Apply
- Startups and social entrepreneurs developing technologies or business models for any of the listed problem statements
- Solutions in prototype, pilot-tested, or market-ready stages
- Founders committed full-time to the proposed solution
- Registered within the last 10 years
- Solutions applicable to the Indian urban context
Application Timeline
Key milestones for the Greenovation Urban Climate Resilience Challenge
Application Deadline
Screening and Shortlisting
Detailed Application Window
Evaluation of Detailed Applications
Announcement of Finalists
Bootcamp
Finale
Ready to Transform?
Join the Greenovation DRE Challenge 2.0 and be part of India’s journey towards clean energy-powered rural prosperity.
About EarthON Foundation
EarthON bridges this gap by empowering leaders and entrepreneurs to implement transformative solutions at the intersection of climate and livelihoods. By investing directly in grassroots initiatives, we ensure that bold ideas from those closest to the problem can become scalable actions for a sustainable future.
The EarthON Foundation USA, a 501(c)(3) organization, is redefining climate funding by empowering climate leaders and early-stage entrepreneurs in vulnerable regions
About Greenovation Hub
The Greenovation Hub is SwitchON Foundation’s flagship accelerator, nurturing eco-entrepreneurs and climate innovators who are reimagining India’s green economy. Through innovation challenges, bootcamps, and mentorship, it supports high-potential enterprises across renewable energy, clean technology, sustainable agriculture, and climate adaptation, helping them turn bold ideas into scalable impact.
Trusted by Industry Leaders
Collaborating with leading organisations
Ecosystem Partners
Outreach Partner
Knowledge Partner
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