HKH-Innovation Challenge for Entrepreneurs (ICE)

The HKH-Innovation Challenge for Entrepreneurs (ICE) is a joint initiative by the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) to support for-profit organizations and entrepreneurs in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region. The challenge provides funding, mentoring, and capacity building for scalable business solutions that address ecological, market, and value chain challenges, specifically in resilient agriculture, water security, and sustainable tourism.

• The HKH-Innovation Challenge for Entrepreneurs (ICE) targets for-profit organizations and innovators in specific areas of the Hindu Kush Himalaya region: Bhutan, Nepal, the Indian Himalayan Region, and the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.
• The challenge focuses on three primary thematic areas for innovation: water security and resilience, climate-resilient sustainable tourism, and resilient agriculture innovations for nature.
• Selected winners will receive cash prizes ranging from USD 5,000 to 25,000 to implement and scale their solutions over a nine-month period from April to December 2025.
• The support package for winners includes a tailored mentoring program, communications support, monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) support, and participation in a Leadership Academy based on executive management development practices.
• Proposals are evaluated on a 100-point scale across seven criteria: innovativeness, potential for impact, equity, scalability, profitability and sustainability, team composition/organisation, and risk.
• The application timeline began with a launch on 7 November 2024, with a submission deadline of 6 December 2024, and final winners announced in March 2025.

APA

Global Resilience Partnership (n.d.). HKH-Innovation Challenge for Entrepreneurs (ICE). https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/challenge-guidelines-for-applicants-2.pdf

Chicago

Global Resilience Partnership. HKH-Innovation Challenge for Entrepreneurs (ICE). n.d. https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/challenge-guidelines-for-applicants-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Global Resilience Partnership |title=HKH-Innovation Challenge for Entrepreneurs (ICE) |url=https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/challenge-guidelines-for-applicants-2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{globalresiliencepartnershipndhkhinnovation, author = {{Global Resilience Partnership}}, title = {{HKH-Innovation Challenge for Entrepreneurs (ICE)}}, institution = {Global Resilience Partnership}, url = {https://www.globalresiliencepartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/challenge-guidelines-for-applicants-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }