Moving From Unicorns to Ecosystems – How to Reimagine Climate Finance

Venture capital was built to chase unicorns. Markets reward them once they emerge. Yet unicorns alone cannot halt climate shocks. They cannot regenerate soils or redistribute power to frontline communities. If we keep funding climate innovation as though it were only about the next breakthrough technology company, we will keep producing isolated wins rather than the systemic transformation needed to face the climate challenge. 

The climate crisis demands something different: a more holistic and interconnected approach. It calls for entrepreneurship that functions like a forest rather than a hunt for mythical creatures. 

That means financing ecosystems. It means investing in the connective tissue between entrepreneurs, communities, investors and governments. It requires treating trust, relationships and shared learning as legitimate business outcomes rather than "soft" by-products. Success and resilience never grows in isolation—it emerges when ventures are linked together into living systems that create value for all stakeholders. 

Why we need to move beyond single ventures support 

For over a decade, climate entrepreneurship has borrowed the tools of traditional venture capital. The focus has been on single firms assessed through narrow milestones: revenue, patents, avoided carbon or jobs created. These metrics matter, yet they do not build resilience or unlock new markets alone. Too often, venture models reward outputs that look impressive in reports but fail to change the structures underpinning economies and societies. 

This model is poorly suited to climate realities and the partnership opportunities they present. Early-stage finance rewards speed and scale, not collaboration or durability. It prioritises commercial returns above integrated value creation. It leaves entrepreneurs competing for scarce resources instead of collaborating to build shared capabilities and market access. 

At Climate KIC, we have used these tools but also tested their limits. We have learned that climate challenges cannot be solved venture by venture. The systemic nature of the problem demands a systemic model of entrepreneurship—one that creates profitable opportunities while delivering social and environmental impact at scale. 

A demonstration of what systemic entrepreneurship delivers 

Systemic entrepreneurship does not discard venture building but reframes its context and potential. Instead of funding ad hoc projects, forward-thinking investors and partners support networks. Instead of chasing individual "heroes," we nurture collective impact. Instead of short-term outputs, we build relationships and capacities that generate sustained business value and market transformation. 

It is a shift from transactional to transformational thinking, from isolated deals to dynamic ecosystems that unlock new markets and partnerships. Financing blends commercial innovation with social impact, circularity and resilience. It weaves together the fragmented efforts of start-ups, public authorities, investors and entrepreneur support organisations into something that behaves like a living system: adaptive, connected and creating value across multiple dimensions. 

Like a forest drawing strength from root networks, systemic entrepreneurship thrives on trust, relationships and shared capacities that anchor ventures, help them access markets and withstand shocks. 

The results we’ve seen on the ground 

Nairobi: Through our Innovation Cluster, 20 start-ups piloted circular economy solutions in partnership with informal waste workers, demonstrating viable business models in emerging markets. Eco-Charge Limited is producing biomass briquettes from agriculture and wood waste, providing renewable energy solutions and creating new revenue streams. Kiseki is scaling waste management solutions with a focus on glass bottles while maintaining strong social inclusion of informal workers. Harcourt Agri Farms operates a black soldier fly farm with robust performance metrics and social inclusion. Collectively, the 2024 cohort supported 792 informal workers and cut emissions by an estimated 15 kilotonnes CO₂eq—equivalent to four large wind turbines—while creating profitable businesses. 

Bengaluru: Our Innovation Cluster supported ventures such as Carbon Craft, which pioneered carbon-negative tiles, and Bare Necessities, which produces zero-waste home care products. Alongside five other ventures, they supported 135 informal workers and adopted measurable strategies to strengthen social inclusion and gender equity. 

These clusters achieved more than product launches. They fostered government partnerships, behaviour change, market shaping and barrier analysis—creating business environments where climate solutions can scale profitably. 

Tanzania: Our Adaptation Innovation Cluster brought youth-led organisations together for training on climate policy and negotiation. The outcome was not a single product but a cadre of leaders capable of influencing national adaptation strategies and unlocking public-private partnerships. 

Slovenia: Mobility start-ups collaborated with city authorities to pilot decarbonisation measures, embedding entrepreneurship directly into policy experimentation and creating pathways to procurement contracts and market access. 

Ireland: Ventures like Agrolinera and SpaceCrop linked their solutions to national agrifood priorities, demonstrating how portfolios can align precisely with government strategies and secure strategic partnerships. 

These are not isolated successes. Across our portfolio, Climate KIC connects over 10,000 ventures and 400 partners in more than 80 countries. Programmes such as Climathon, ClimateLaunchpad and ClimAccelerator have scaled thousands of solutions while creating networks of knowledge, mentorship and business opportunities. Together, these assets resemble a mycelium: weaving individual initiatives into adaptive ecosystems that generate both profit and impact. 

Why business leaders and investors should act 

These examples demonstrate market opportunity. To scale them, business leaders and investors must act differently. They must: 

• Look beyond quick wins that appear impressive on paper but lack the durability to create lasting market value
• Back the strategic work of building trust, relationships and long-term capacities that open new markets 
• Invest boldly in overlooked communities where resilience needs are greatest and untapped markets exist 
• Treat collaboration and shared learning as legitimate pathways to competitive advantage 
• Pair urgency with strategic foresight by investing today in innovations capable of transforming systems and creating tomorrow's markets 

Encouragingly, progressive investors and corporations are already experimenting with blended finance and ecosystem-building approaches. They recognise that lasting competitive advantage and resilience will not emerge from stand-alone wins but from ventures woven into networks that create shared value. 

The strategic choice before us 

Systemic entrepreneurship is emerging regardless of whether business leaders embrace it. The real question is whether forward-thinking companies and investors act early enough to shape it and capture first-mover advantage. If we do, the funding landscape within a decade could be transformed. Capital could flow into interconnected initiatives that regenerate ecosystems, open new markets and create conditions for communities and businesses to thrive amid climate shocks. 

If we hesitate, if we treat resilience as a side note in business plans rather than a strategic imperative, promising innovations will struggle in isolation and market opportunities will be lost. 

The good news is that many business leaders are moving in this direction already. Mission-driven corporations, progressive public funders and forward-looking investors are testing portfolio approaches that generate both financial returns and systemic impact. Others are experimenting with community-led mechanisms and patient capital models. This is no longer an abstract debate but a groundswell of practice creating tangible business opportunities. 

What we need now is alignment, courage and scale. 

Find out more at climate-kic.org, contact us to explore partnership, and subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date with Climate KIC.