‘Climate Challenge SL’: Empowering innovators through impact investments

Climate Challenge SL, the country’s first-ever climate hackathon, is set to empower data-driven innovations in the agriculture and fisheries sectors, bringing together teams of data professionals from all parts of the country to tackle critical climate issues with cutting-edge solutions.

Climate Challenge SL is a call for innovators, data scientists, students, entrepreneurs, and professionals to step forward and contribute to Sri Lanka’s climate resilience journey. It emphasises that the solutions we need for a sustainable future require more than just creative ideas; they demand scalable business models that impact investors are ready to support. 

With the support of the United States through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and in partnership with the Climate Collective Foundation (CCF) and Lanka Impact Investment Network (LIIN), this initiative goes beyond conventional hackathons by integrating impact investment principles to long-term, meaningful climate resilience solutions. “Climate Challenge SL – Creative Data Solutions for Resilience” is designed to help mitigate climate change related issues faced by the agriculture and fisheries sectors, which provide livelihoods for over 30 percent of the Sri Lankan population, contribute to the country’s economic growth, and are critical for national food security. Climate change continues to have compounding effects on these two economic sectors, previously hampered by COVID-19 restrictions and the country’s macro-economic crisis in 2022. To address this situation, Climate Challenge SL will open an innovators’ space for young data professionals from across the country to incubate ideas and solutions for grassroots application. 

What sets Climate Challenge SL apart is its commitment to fostering not only innovation but viable, scalable businesses that can attract impact investment. Impact investing with the intent to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside financial returns, has seen rapid growth worldwide, particularly in climate resilience and sustainability-focused sectors. For the agriculture and fisheries industries in Sri Lanka, this investment approach opens pathways to finance transformative solutions that are sustainable and economically viable.

Climate Challenge SL will encourage participants to design data-driven solutions and get them to think beyond just innovation. In collaboration with LIIN and partners, these participants will learn the principles of impact investing, the criteria that attract investors, and how to align their solutions with broader economic, social, and environmental goals. The objective of the event is to provide a launch pad for innovators and start-ups ready to transform climate solutions into marketable ventures that can attract long-term funding that can help them scale up. To this end, the winning team will be awarded a prise of Rs. 1 million. Additionally, the top 10 teams will have an opportunity to further develop or scale up their innovations and to pitch their ground-breaking ideas and models to impact investors.

Of the venture, LIIN Chairman Chandula Abeywickrema says “The involvement of the impact investment community underscores the economic potential of climate-focused enterprises in Sri Lanka. At the upcoming event, participants will engage with investors and mentors, giving them a unique opportunity to receive guidance from industry experts and potentially secure investment for their solutions.”