The four-day programme oflectures and hands-on workshops gave their owners an opportunity torefine their product strategies, business models, and marketing pitches,sharpen their negotiating skills, and network with clean-techentrepreneurs, investors, and peers.
"To tackle climate change,we need to help train innovative and successful climate technologyentrepreneurs," Dr Aiming Zhou, senior energy specialist at the AsianDevelopment Bank, one of the organisers of the training, said.
"Aboot camp like this, which provides intense hands-on support to themost promising emerging climate technology businesses in Vietnam, plays acritical part in making this happen."
The initiative wasdeveloped by the World Bank's Climate Technology Programme inpartnership with the ADB to accelerate the growth of new greenbusinesses in the region and help reduce the threat posed by climatechange.
With the successful conclusion of the boot camp, theprogramme will continue to nurture and mentor these and other climatetechnology SMEs and startups through the Climate Innovation Centre. Thisupcoming business hub is designed to provide services like early-stagefinancing, technology commercialisation, business development, andcapacity building support.
Supported by the UK and Australia,the centre will deliver business advisory services and technologycommercialisation funding to up to 65 climate technology entrepreneurs,including equity investments in 25 companies, in the first five years.
Throughthis, the centre is expected to reduce or prevent the equivalent of theannual emissions of 47,000 passenger vehicles (225,000 metric tonnes ofCO2 emissions), improve access to clean water, increase agriculturalefficiency, and provide access to renewable or more efficient sources ofenergy.
Overall, the centre will make one million people less vulnerable to climate change.
Vietnamis one of the five countries most vulnerable to climate change in theAsia-Pacific region. In the last 50 years sea levels have risen by 50cm,while extreme climate events (such as typhoons, floods, landslides,droughts, and saline intrusion) have cost the country 9,500 lives andapproximately 1.5 percent of GDP every year, according to World BankVietnam.-VNA