Smart Green Projects is back: After its inaugural round last year, Egypt’s Smart Green Projects initiative (SGP) is back, with projects that get the nod set to showcase their ideas at COP28 in the UAE.

ICYMI- The first iteration of the SGP went live at last year’s COP27 summit in Sharm El Sheikh and received applications from more than 6k aspiring smart green projects. Last month we spoke to a few of the 18 projects selected in 2022, all of whom had the opportunity to pitch their ideas to investors at the global climate gathering.

SGP 2.0: The second round of the government-led initiative is in collaboration with the United Nations and is accepting applicants until the end of July. The SGP is also working with the Sports and Youth Ministry and universities to better promote the initiative to young would-be entrepreneurs.

More assistance to bring in more applicants: Amazon, UN Women, the UN Development Program, and the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency (MSMEDA) have held a series of workshops for applicants over the past month on finance, sustainability, entrepreneurship, impact management, and drawing up business plans.

Who’s involved? The initiative is organized by representatives from the environment, international cooperation, local development, foreign, communications, and planning ministries. It also features a representative from the National Council for Women and a number of experts and specialists, and is headed by project coordinator Hisham Badr.

Who makes the call? The panel of judges includes Badr; UN high-level climate champion for Egypt Mahmoud Mohieldin; executive director of the National Training Academy of Egypt Rascha Ragheb, permanent undersecretary at the Planning Ministry Khaled Mostafa, and head of the Sustainable Development Forum Emad Adly.

Projects are chosen based on six criteria:

#1- It must be green: The green component focuses on the project’s ability to reduce the negative impact of climate change or improve the environment. This could be via carbon reduction measures, introducing actions for climate change adaptation, conserving natural resources, improving air and water quality, and improving energy efficiency.

#2- It has to involve tech: The tech component is all about using modern and innovative technologies to reach sustainability goals, which could be achieved through cybersecurity measures, using AI, communication technologies or advanced sensors and monitoring systems.

#3- Is it economically feasible and bankable? The project needs to be financially feasible enough to attract investors. Project owners should be able to provide financial projections including potential revenue streams and the expected return on investment.

#4- Can you scale it? Projects should have the potential to be replicated on a larger scale and in different geographical locations. Judges look at the project design, its scalability, and project plans and strategies.

#5- Prove it’s sustainable: Projects must have a demonstrable positive economic, social, and economic impact. The panel will assess the project’s ability to create jobs, adapt to changing circumstances, and use data analysis to set sustainability goals.

#6- Get women involved: Empowerment is all about the extent to which women can benefit from the project or take part in it. Judges will focus on female representation in the project and leadership roles, how the project supports the social empowerment of women, and provide job opportunities and training for women.

How the process works: Following the online registration, projects go through an initial sorting, where an executive committee made up of policymakers and experts evaluates the projects based on whether or not they meet the aforementioned criteria. The committee will then shortlist six projects from each governorate, leaving it with 162 projects. The panel of judges, headed by Mohieldin, then comes in to handpick the top three projects in each of the six categories.

What’s in it for you? Shortlisted projects will get the chance to present their vision during COP28, getting exposed to a wide network of potential investors, financers and industry leaders that could help them get their ideas off the ground. The top three projects in each of the six categories also get cash prizes between EGP 250k and EGP 750k. You can apply to take part in the initiative here.

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