It is high time women’s leadership and entrepreneurship are recognised and amplified in the fields of circular economy, climate technologies and the clean energy transition. The post-pandemic economic recovery measures represent a unique opportunity to harness women’s full potential to reshape industrial development towards environmentally sound production, consumption and waste management practices.

The event will feature and celebrate women entrepreneurs and their innovative products and projects that support more climate-neutral and circular industries. It will address how the public and private sectors can foster enabling environments for women to be agents for change towards more resilient, inclusive and sustainable future societies.

TOPIC

• The clean technology sector has a significant role to play in the green recovery from the global crisis and building back better, as it has potential for creating employment in a sustainable, resilient and inclusive manner. Women are already playing an important role in this green transition as innovators, founders as well as consumers. 

• However, cleantech businesses are characterized by significant up-front expenditures before revenue is generated; compared to the average startup, they need a longer time to become profitable since they operate often in a distorted market (e.g. energy sector). Hence, the cleantech sector needs significant support for early-stage business expenditures and activities, both for product development and manufacturing, as well as for attracting and keeping qualified personnel. 

• Adding to these general hurdles, women entrepreneurs in cleantech face additional challenges that are rooted in structural gender inequalities, which has not been so widely studied. A recent RAUN study mentored by UNIDO, identified some of the following challenges in terms of access to

  • seed/venture capital and private investment;

  • loans from banks and financial institutions;

  • networks; and

  • market opportunities such as exports and public procurement contracts.

Moderator

Stephan Sicars, Managing Director, Directorate of Environment and Energy, UNIDO

 Panelists

• Suzanne Biegel, Catalyst at Large and Co-Founder, GenderSmart Investing

• Maluisa Flores, Sustainability Manager, Esmeralda Corp

• Jaruwan Khammuang, CEO, Fang Thai Factory Ltd Partnership

• Vere Shaba, Founder & CEO, Greendesign