Google is planning to launch an accelerator program to support the startups working to measure climate change, environment, sustainability, and similar projects.
Kate Brandt, Chief Sustainability Officer at Google, while attending the Web Summit 2019 tech event in Lisbon, Portugal announced the future plans of Google by launching the Google for Startups Accelerator focused on sustainable development goals.
She further called that the startups working in this area do lack significant investment and expertise. These are the areas where Google is going to carry them up. Mostly working to improve poverty, peace and justice are not able to find proper companies to work with. Google shares sustainability goals with them with projects like Sunroof and AI to address social challenges.
Google is not going to fund startups in this accelerator. However, the purpose is to put these startups in the limelight and help them find investors. Different teams at Google will provide them access to their engineering resources, legal guidance and assist them to develop a business model. In the official blog Google mentioned the following points where it will be supporting:
- Product and engineering expertise
- Business development
- Access to funding
To begin with, the silicon valley company will look for 8 to 10 startups from the Middle East, Africa, and across Europe to take part in a six-month accelerator program in early 2020. A second cohort will start later in 2020 as well.
The startups will be selected by Google which are working on the listed United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals like poverty, hunger, health, quality education, gender equality, clean water, climate actions, and so on.
Many activists including Greta Thunberg are working to raise the voice at the biggest forums in the world and believe the world is under climate emergency. Recently many concrete actions are taking place. Italy has made climate change a mandatory topic in schools.
This is not the first time Google started an accelerator program. This the brand new accelerator is part of Google for Startups which look for startups to build and scale their products using Google stack on world-changing ideas.
Featured Image: Business Insider
