By Nelson A King From Caribbean Life

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The United States Department of State says that Special Representative for Global Partnerships Dorothy McAuliffe, US Ambassador to Jamaica N. Nick Perry and the Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship, Caribbean on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) launching a Coalition for Climate Entrepreneurship (CCE) Hub in Kingston, Jamaica.

The State Department said the hub will provide programming, training and mentorship, and facilitate access to capital for more than 130 climate entrepreneurs from at least 15 countries throughout the Caribbean. 

“Co-signatories and partners, Branson Centre of Entrepreneurship, the Department of State’s Office of Global Partnerships and US Embassy Kingston will support climate entrepreneurs through capital, capacity building, technical assistance, access to mentorships, and network building in early and growth stages,” the State Department said.  

It said initial funding to establish CCE Hub Jamaica comes from a Department of State grant of US $250,000 from the Coalition for Climate Entrepreneurship Fund. 

The State Department said this seed money will be matched by private sector partners to bring the total program value to more than US $400,000.

CCE Hub Jamaica is the 9th such hub around the world, the State Department said, adding that CCE Hubs provide “a dedicated innovation space for founders and startups working on emerging sustainable solutions for clean energy, climate-smart agriculture, climate finance, climate resilience, adaptation and recovery.”

The State Department said the first CCE Hub was established in Accra, Ghana in 2023 in partnership with Arm and Academic City University. 

CCE was launched at COP26 in Glasgow as a public-private partnership between the State Department and private sector partners to address the climate crisis while contributing to the green growth of developing countries by supporting entrepreneurship around climate solutions, the State Department said. 

It said CCE Hub Kingston will support the US-Caribbean Partnership to Address the Climate Crisis 2030 (PACC 2030) and will directly further its four goals of improving access to development financing, facilitating clean energy project development, enhancing local capacity for climate adaptation, and deepening collaboration with Caribbean partners.

For more on this story go to: CARIBBEAN LIFE