The Mastercard Strive initiative, in partnership with Business Fights Poverty, convened over 50 stakeholders to explore how to empower small businesses through digital solutions. The discussion focused on three areas: artificial intelligence and automation, access to finance and capital, and climate resilience and sustainability. This report highlights the five overreaching insights that this convening outlined that spans across all three areas to form a framework of principles that empower organisations looking to better support small businesses to navigate climate disruptions and economic uncertainties

India has a wide but unorganised value chain for post-consumer domestic (PCD) waste. Formalised sorting hubs or Textile Recovery Facilities (TRFs) primarily dealing with PCD waste, are at a nascent stage, trying to find their feet within the market by optimising processes at both the demand and supply sides. These TRFs are sorting PCD waste through manual methods. However, despite the waste valorisation potential of these sorting hubs, their returns are limited in certain cases as they are unable to provide good quality waste feedstock and assurance of the material composition to high-grade fibre-to-fibre mechanical recyclers. This gap provides a potential area for the deployment of sorting technologies. 

About 48% of the Post-consumer Domestic Waste (PCD) has the potential to be valorised via formalised sorting hubs. Out of this, 35% of the waste can have better utilisation by adopting semiautomated & automated technologies, leading to a revenue increase of 10%. At an industry level, this translates to 1,380 kilo tonnes of waste and INR 388 Cr (going up to INR 1,348 crores in some cases) of additional revenue in one year. However, an enabling environment needs to be created to make these technologies economically viable for a sorting hub.

The business case presented in this report assesses commercial viability for both semi-automated and automated technologies and validates the hypothesis under five different scenarios. Thus, it demonstrates the infrastructure and investment requirements to valorise the post-consumer textile waste, serving as a framework to enable well-informed decision-making for sorting hubs to implement sorting technologies. 

Climate investing has grown from a niche investment vertical market to a widely recognised market that attracts billions of PE and VC capital globally and in India. In 2023, venture and growth investment into climate totalled $32 billion around the world and $804 million in India. The size of our network reflects the vast opportunity and high levels of enthusiasm. 

Given this step change in the flow of capital, one would assume that the ecosystem in India has evolved and that the continuum of capital functions smoothly, with multiple instruments and funding approaches accessible and affordable for scaling climate innovations.

We decided to unpack this hypothesis in the third India Climate Finance Report and examine what really exists in terms of a continuum, how smooth the handovers are and what’s still missing to enable climate innovation at scale. This report is a combination of survey insights and deep-dives/ guest articles from peers and partners in the ecosystem. With the focus on mapping, this time we’ve requested guest articles from stakeholders working at very specific points/ junctures of the continuum, and asked them to comment on what’s working and what isn’t. We’ve also tried to highlight the opportunity for family offices and emerging foundations with more broad-based/ flexible mandates. Also as always, we have highlighted the role of appropriate and accurate climate impact measurement, as a reflection of the value created.

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are the cornerstone of the global transition towards sustainability. India's ambitious climate commitments make EVs not just an environmental imperative, but an economic opportunity. They represent our path to both decarbonization and energy independence, while providing opportunity to accelerate innovation and manufacturing.

This report comes at a crucial time when India's EV charging landscape is at an inflection point. The challenges we face are unique – from installing charging points in crowded urban areas to building networks that withstand everything from Rajasthan's heat to Kerala's monsoons. 'Charging Ahead-Part II' delves into the intricate interplay of policy, regulation, and industry trends shaping this crucial segment, providing cross-jurisdictional analysis that contextualizes India's efforts within a global framework. The insights from markets like California, Singapore, and the UK offer invaluable lessons for our path forward, from integrating renewable energy to deploying innovative business models. The collaboration between GameChanger Law Advisors and Speciale Invest in producing this report
exemplifies the interdisciplinary approach needed to build a sustainable future.

Kenya's waste management and circularity sector is rapidly emerging as a critical area for sustainable investment. Across the ten sub-sectors and 122 businesses identified within this space in KOIS and ANDE’s Introductory Guide to Investing in the Waste and Circularity Sector in Kenya , four key sub-sectors have demonstrated particularly high potential for investment. Those sub-sectors are organic waste, plastic waste, wastewater, and integrated waste management. This investment guide outlines the complex landscape of the sector, highlighting critical financing needs and investment strategies. While detailed deep-dive guides have been developed to explore each of the four key subsectors, this guide focuses on the financial dynamics that underpin successful investments. It examines the varying financing needs across the different stages of business maturity and sub-sectors. Moreover, it highlights the key factors of success for waste management and circularity businesses, investment trends, gaps and opportunities for innovative finance solutions that could shape the sector. Finally, this guide provides insights into how investors can strategically position themselves and better catalyse investment to grow the sector.

Kenya generates substantial volumes of wastewater from domestic, industrial and agricultural sources — amounting to 800 million litres per day from domestic use alone.2 The country faces significant challenges in managing this wastewater effectively, which increases pressure on limited local freshwater resources. For instance, only 30% of the 400 million litres of wastewater generated daily in Nairobi undergoes treatment, and only 5% of wastewater from offsite sanitation management (OSM) is effectively treated because of failures in the sewage system, a lack of treatment infrastructure and facilities operating below capacity. These problems are exacerbated as transport trucks resort to illegal dumping in nature due to high discharge costs. As wastewater contains contaminants such as chemicals, oils and human waste, this results in heavy pollution of water bodies, endangering aquatic ecosystems and public health. This study employed a mixed-methods approach to conduct a deep dive into the wastewater management sub-sector in Kenya. Our study identified 27 active businesses in this field, including a few growth-stage businesses which have achieved scale through innovation, acquisition of effective technologies, and establishing strategic partnerships, such as the Fresh Life partnership with Regen Organics to convert waste collected by Fresh Life.

Kenya generates 880,000 tons of plastic waste per year, comprising various subcategories such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyvinyl chloride (PVC), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), with PET, PP and polyester being the most prevalent. The widespread use of plastic, particularly in urban areas, combined with inefficient waste management systems, leads to the pollution of water resources and severe negative impacts on marine life. Furthermore, plastic waste disposed in nature or in landfills emits greenhouse gases during its decomposition. Out of the 122 businesses identified through this study, 17 businesses operating in the plastic waste management sub-sector in Kenya have been identified, covering applications ranging from plastic waste reduction, recycling into new plastic products and waste conversion into energy. This study employed a mixed-methods approach to conduct a deep dive into the plastic waste management sub-sector in Kenya. Out of the 122 businesses identified through this study, 17 businesses operating in the plastic waste management sub-sector in Kenya have been identified, covering applications ranging from plastic waste reduction, recycling into new plastic products and waste conversion into energy.

Organic waste, which amounts to 5.72 million tons every year in Kenya, spans diverse sub-categories including food waste, yard waste, animal waste, agricultural waste, wood waste, organic sludge, biodegradable waste and human waste (faecal sludge). Rural households typically compost around 75% of their organic waste, but only 25% is composted in urban areas. Although organic waste degrades quickly and does not stay in the environment, it emits methane emissions during degradation or incineration. The high prevalence of open defecation due to inadequate sanitation systems further contributes to these challenges, as only 30% of the population has access to safely managed sanitation services.Effective organic waste management can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, deforestation and soil degradation by providing sustainable alternatives to fuel, charcoal, wood and chemical fertilizers. For instance, transforming organic waste into biogas saves about 370–400 kg of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) per ton, while turning it into fertilizers saves 350 kg CO2e per ton.Given the large volumes of recyclable material and its numerous applications, organic waste management is one of the most developed waste management sub-sectors in Kenya. Out of 122 waste management and circularity businesses identified through this study, 30 deal with organic waste, most of which were established over the past decade. This study employed a mixed-methods approach to conduct a deep dive into the organic waste management sub-sector in Kenya. 

Every day, Kenya produces over 24,000 tons of waste, amounting to 8.8 million tons annually. Most of this waste is currently mismanaged, with more than 75% of waste in Kenya being incinerated or disposed at dumpsites. Moreover, Kenya is home to two of the world's 50 largest landfills – Dandora in Nairobi and Kibarani in Mombasa – highlighting its significant waste management challenges. Mismanaged waste in Kenya poses several environmental and health risks, which local actors are yet to comprehensively address. The proximity of landfills to residential areas in Kenya negatively impacts the quality of life of nearby communities and poses severe health risks by contaminating local land and water resources. In addition, waste incineration releases toxic pollutants into the air, water and soil and produces hazardous ash that can contaminate the environment and pose health risks to nearby communities. This study identified 16 small and growing businesses (SGBs) providing integrated waste management services. Employing a mixed-methods approach to conduct a deep dive into the integrated waste management sub-sector in Kenya.

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are at the heart of our economies and societies and play a crucial role in achieving global climate goals. They represent over 90% of businesses and 50% of greenhouse gas emissions globally.

Our research shows a growing paradox: while more SMEs recognize the importance of climate action, the barriers to taking effective action are also increasing. This widening gap demands urgent attention.

The challenge: the need to take climate action is intensifying, with more SMEs reporting that they have been directly impacted by climate change. 70% report experiencing direct effects on their business in the past year. These impacts include supply chain disruptions (39%), damage to assets or property (25%), and loss of productivity (24%).