 "India, France to launch climate fund for startups in Indo-Pacific countries")
India and France will launch a fund aimed to support startups and climate-centric innovations in the Indo-Pacific, according to a report in Mint.
The agreement for the fund, along with the funding amount, has been finalised, paving the way for potential projects to receive funding in the Western Indian Ocean region and the wider Indo-Pacific area.
Mint reported that the two countries agreed to set up the fund, which will be launched later this year, after Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled to France for Bastille Day celebrations in July 2023.
“Through a unique model of Triangular Development Cooperation, India and France will work on setting up the Indo-Pacific Triangular Cooperation (IPTDC) fund aimed at supporting climate and SDG focused innovations and startups from third countries of the Indo-Pacific, with the goal of facilitating the scaling up of green technologies being developed in the region," the two nations said in their "Horizon 2047" joint vision statement released during Modi’s visit to France in 2023, according to the Mint report.
“Both countries will jointly identify the projects to be supported through the IPTDC fund. This initiative would be a significant step ahead in providing viable and transparent funding alternatives to innovators in the Indo-Pacific region and would also be a key pillar of the India-EU Connectivity Partnership launched in 2021," said the joint.
Mint said that France holds strategic importance for India in the Indo-Pacific, having overseas territories such as La Reunion, New Caledonia, and French Polynesia. India also has triangular cooperation mechanisms with Germany, the US, and the UK.
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Additionally, India collaborates with Japan and Bangladesh to enhance trade and connectivity through the Bay of Bengal Northeast Industrial Value Chain concept. The objective is to establish a new regional supply chain aimed at drawing manufacturing activities to the Northeast and connecting these relatively less developed states to the wider Asian market. In collaboration with Germany, India has initiated projects in Ghana, Cameroon, Malawi, and Peru.
Ongoing initiatives range from empowering women in Malawi through agri-business promotion to utilising agri-tech to enhance potato production in Cameroon. According to the official German technical support organisation, GIZ, evaluations are underway for projects in Ethiopia and Madagascar as well, the Mint reported.
Additionally, as part of the Global Innovation Partnership, India and the UK are exploring a comparable concept aimed at leveraging Indian innovation to foster development in strategically significant third countries.