The climate and technology ecosystem in Brazil is growing at a fast pace, but entrepreneurs in this sector still face a very real challenge: understanding where and how to access capital. There are over 500 climate startups and tech-based companies active in the country, developing solutions ranging from renewable energy to food systems, spanning agriculture, forestry, sanitation, waste management, and mobility — and yet, less than 1% of the roughly 90 billion dollars in global climate tech capital invested in 2024 reached Latin America and the Caribbean.
That doesn’t necessarily mean the money doesn’t exist. It means the money is fragmented, scattered across grants, venture capital funds, credit lines, and public funding instruments that, more often than not, entrepreneurs simply don’t know about — or don’t know how to access at the right time. It’s as much an information problem as it is a capital problem, and recognizing that difference already shifts the perspective significantly for anyone building a climate solution in Brazil.
That’s exactly the mismatch the Brazilian Climate Tech Forum set out to fix when it launched, during the third edition of the São Paulo Climate Week, an unprecedented guide mapping 141 funding organizations. Called the Funding Map for Climate Techs in Brazil, the document has a simple and straightforward goal: connect those who have capital with those who are developing climate solutions in Brazil. 🌱
What’s behind this mapping effort
The guide developed by the Brazilian Climate Tech Forum didn’t come out of thin air. It’s the result of a collective effort to make the climate and technology ecosystem more accessible and navigable for Brazilian entrepreneurs who often show up with a solid solution but without clarity on which capital path makes the most sense for the stage they’re at. The document brings together everything from organizations offering non-dilutive resources to venture capital funds specialized in climate tech, including credit lines, structured finance, and non-financial resources — an overview that, compiled in one place, represents a real shift in how the sector operates.
The funding sources were organized into five broad categories: non-dilutive resources, venture capital, credit, structured finance, and non-financial resources. For each of these categories, the guide details the main characteristics, the profile of funding organizations, the recommended stage of business development, and key considerations for companies seeking capital. That level of detail is what turns this material into something genuinely practical.
Among the instruments mapped are grant programs, fellowships, venture capital funds, credit lines, and more sophisticated financing structures like blended finance, project finance, offtake contracts, plus the Fundo Clima and Eco Invest Brasil — mechanisms that, together, significantly expand fundraising possibilities for climate solutions at different growth stages.
Before this kind of mapping existed, the process of looking for funding was extremely manual and heavily dependent on networking. Those who had access to international events or well-connected mentors could navigate the maze more easily. Those who didn’t were left adrift, wasting precious time on processes that didn’t make sense for the startup’s current moment. With 141 organizations cataloged, the guide democratizes that access in a very concrete way. 🛠️
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The perception that capital is scarce might be wrong
One of the most interesting takeaways from the forum comes from Ana Himmelstein, executive director of the Brazilian Climate Tech Forum. According to her, there’s a widespread perception that capital is scarce, but what the survey actually revealed was something different: a mismatch between those who have capital and those who are developing solutions.
As she explains, investors say there aren’t enough strong projects, while entrepreneurs say they can’t access resources. The challenge, then, is bringing these two sides closer together. Ana describes the guide as a toolbox that helps entrepreneurs identify the funding instruments best suited to their stage of development, business model, and investment goals.
This point is crucial because it completely reframes the conversation. Instead of treating the lack of capital as an unsolvable problem, the mapping points to an issue of connection and information — something far more actionable in practice. 🔗
Why Brazil still captures so little global climate capital
The question is fair and deserves an honest answer: Brazil has biodiversity, scale, one of the largest renewable energy markets in the world, and still attracts a tiny slice of the global capital allocated to climate tech. Part of the explanation lies in how international investors perceive risk in emerging markets, but there are other factors that often get left out of the conversation — like the lack of visibility for solutions developed here and the difficulty of communicating traction in a way that makes sense to a fund based in Europe or the United States.
That data point about the region’s low participation comes from an earlier study conducted by the forum in partnership with Climate Ventures and the German development agency GIZ. In the forum’s assessment, recently created mechanisms like Eco Invest Brasil and Fundo Clima have already expanded the available capital supply. The next challenge, however, is making sure those resources are actually deployed — meaning they move off paper and reach the companies that need them.
There’s also a structural issue tied to the Brazilian startup ecosystem itself. Climate solutions often involve hardware, infrastructure, or large-scale behavioral change — naturally longer cycles than those of a consumer app, for example. That means climate startups need patient capital, willing to wait longer for returns, which isn’t exactly the dominant profile among domestic funds.
On top of that, climate technology in Brazil operates in sectors that have historically depended heavily on subsidies and public policy — energy, agriculture, mobility — creating an interdependence with the regulatory environment that can scare off investors less familiar with the local context. Navigating that complexity requires specialized knowledge, and that’s precisely where initiatives like the Brazilian Climate Tech Forum’s guide become even more relevant. 🌍
How different funding instruments work in practice
One of the most valuable aspects of the mapping is the diversity of instruments it covers. Funding for climate startups isn’t a one-size-fits-all thing — and confusing a grant with equity or a credit line with risk capital can cost an early-stage business dearly.
As Zé Gustavo, also an executive director of the forum, points out, the most appropriate type of funding depends on both the company’s business model and its stage of development. Science-based startups, for example, may qualify for non-dilutive resources, while companies with assets and established contracts can pursue credit lines or structured financing.
Non-dilutive resources, such as grants and fellowships, are especially useful for technology validation, applied research, and pilot projects because they don’t dilute equity stakes and don’t create repayment obligations. For pre-revenue startups, this type of instrument can be a game-changer. Venture capital, on the other hand, works on a different logic: the fund takes an equity stake in the company, betting on accelerated growth and multiplied returns down the road.
Credit lines and structured finance, in turn, tend to offer differentiated conditions for sustainability- and innovation-focused businesses, but they require a level of legal and financial structuring that many startups haven’t reached yet. That’s not necessarily an insurmountable barrier — it’s a signal that preparation and planning are part of the capital access process, not just a consequence of it. 📊
Deep techs and the weight of science in the Brazilian ecosystem
An important segment of this ecosystem is what’s known as climate deep techs — businesses built on scientific research and technological development, many of them born inside universities and research centers. According to the Panorama DeepClimate Brasil 2025 survey, there are currently 254 companies of this type in the country, and about 80% of them were founded in the last decade.
That data point reveals a young but vibrant ecosystem that combines scientific rigor with real impact potential. Companies like these tend to benefit significantly from non-dilutive resources in their early stages, precisely because maturing a science-based technology usually takes longer and requires investment before any meaningful revenue kicks in.
The guide’s technical content was prepared by Amanda Magalhães, an economist who graduated from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro with an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management, with experience in initiatives like the MIT Climate & Energy Prize and the MIT Climate Project. The technical team also included Mariana Negreiros, who holds a master’s degree from SOAS University of London, while Raquel Bitu, from the Brazilian Climate Tech Forum, coordinated the project.
The role of the ecosystem in accelerating capital access
Initiatives like the Brazilian Climate Tech Forum’s guide don’t work in isolation — they make more sense when connected to an active ecosystem of accelerators, innovation hubs, entrepreneur communities, and industry events. The São Paulo Climate Week, for example, brought together national and international players around a common agenda, creating conditions for conversations that would hardly happen in any other context.
According to the forum, sectors like renewable energy, agribusiness, and carbon markets are among the most promising for attracting investment. And Brazil, in Zé Gustavo’s assessment, is uniquely positioned to become a global leader in the sector. Beyond its biodiversity and the challenges posed by climate change, the country has well-established research centers, a large consumer market, and an innovation ecosystem that’s growing rapidly.
The growth of the climate startup ecosystem in Brazil also depends on a cultural shift within the corporate sector itself. Large corporations that have historically dominated sectors like energy, agribusiness, and mobility are increasingly open to open innovation programs and partnerships with startups — creating a new source of capital and commercial traction for early-stage businesses. 🤝
With 141 organizations mapped and an expanding ecosystem, Brazil today has more pathways than ever to turn climate innovation into viable businesses — and understanding this landscape is the first step to navigating it with greater precision.
