Al Mashat Says Effective Int'l Participation of Startups Accelerates Climate Action

On Saturday, the Minister of International Cooperation Dr. Rania A. Al-Mashat said that the turnout of startups and digital artists in the ClimaTech Run is one of the largest of its kind at the level of competitions held during previous conferences. This points to Egypt’s COP27 presidency and the commitment to moving from pledges to implementation, increasing adaptation efforts.

The participating startups provided solutions in many priority sectors, both mitigation and adaptation, such as renewable energy, food security, sustainable agriculture, water management, industry, urban development, transport, and others areas. The high-level jury is creating a shortlist of 15 startups that will be given the opportunity to present their projects at COP27.

The jury includes representatives from international and regional partners such as the Afreximbank, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the World Food Programme (WFP), the USAID, Google, Microsoft, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The DigitalArt4Climate Track

In the DigitalArt4Climate Track, over 166 artists from 55 countries applied, including 16 from Africa. This will be filtered in 33 designs that will be participating in the COP27. For the public to vote on their favorite pieces: https://digitalart4climate.awardsplatform.com/entry/vote/keBPEoQo?category=122832&page=1

The participating artworks include 3d graphic, painting, and digital art.

The ClimaTech Run competition is an example of effective partnerships between government, development partners, the private sector, and major tech companies, to open up opportunities for startups in climate action. This implemented in partnership with USAID, the WFP, the UNDP, Afreximbank, Google, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the UNIDO, Microsoft, AfriLabs, the Youth Entrepreneurs Network, the International Association for the Advancement of Innovative Approaches to Global Challenges, and Falak Startups.

It is worth noting that the Ministry of International Cooperation, the Ministry of Environment, and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology launched the ClimaTech Run on September 22, reaching out to startups working in climate action, aiming to encourage innovative solutions to address the climate crisis.