Photo: infoDev

                                   CIC Network

Building a Network of Climate Innovation Centers (CICs)

The Challenge:

New technologies are essential to reduce the long-term cost of climate change and achieve Green Growth. Developing countries want to build their own capacity to innovate to (i) ensure energy security and increased energy access, (ii) address climate change mitigation and adaptation and (iii) create competitive domestic industries in clean tech for job creation and other benefits. However, barriers to innovation in climate sectors are especially high and even more pronounced in developing countries. 

The Solution:

The World Bank Group’s infoDev is designing and launching a network of Climate Innovation Centers (CICs) to accelerate the development, deployment, and transfer of locally relevant climate technologies. The CICs build local capacity and address barriers to innovation by offering a tailored suite of financing and services that support domestic SMEs. With the CIC’s assistance, innovative enterprises can become more competitively and profitably involved in booming local and international cleantech markets and supply-chains –  creating jobs and leading to economic growth. 

The Impact:

infoDev’s vision is to create a global network of CICs that promote business-to-business linkages, enhance knowledge sharing and facilitate trade and export opportunities.  The network is expected to create over 2,400 enterprises, generate 240,000 direct and indirect jobs, install 3000 MW of off-grid energy capacity, provide energy access to over 28 million people, deliver clean water to over 10 million households and mitigate 65 million tons of CO2. Business plans for CICs have been developed in Kenya and India and are underway in a number of other markets globally. The first CIC in Kenya has secured USD 15 MM in funding and is scheduled for launch in the second half of CY11.

Climate Innovation Centers (CICs):

• Climate Innovation Centers support innovation and entrepreneurship by offering a full suite of financing and capacity building services to support climate technology commercialization.
• The center acts as a focal point to aggregate efforts in promoting the growth of locally relevant climate industries. The specific services would depend on and be tailored to the market environment of the countries concerned. A center could specialize in one particular technology, or on a range of technologies. Some could have a physical presence, while others could be networked ‘virtual’ centers.
• Examples of existing Climate Innovation Centers include SIBRATEC in Brazil, the Kinrot Ventures Water Technology Incubator in Israel, and the Baoding High-Tech Industry Development Zone in China.
• infoDev’s will establish individual centers but also, importantly, network these centers to one another to ensure that best practices are shared, new markets are opened and technologies and applications are commercialized across borders. This south-south collaboration that infoDev has fostered through its own global incubator network has proved invaluable to developing country stakeholders.

Photo: infoDev

                                                                         Example CIC Programs & Services