By Racquel Moses | Chief Executive Officer
Accelerating Progress for a Climate-Smart Future
The Caribbean Climate-Smart Accelerator (CCSA) continues to mobilize climate finance and accelerate climate-smart development across the region by strengthening the pipeline of investable solutions, improving access to climate data, and convening the stakeholders who move capital to where it is needed. This quarter was defined by the inaugural Climate Smart Summit, a two-day convening in Barbados that brought the region's projects, capital, and decision-makers into a single, action-oriented environment and set the pace for the work ahead.
At the heart of CCSA's work is a commitment to supporting low-carbon development, entrepreneurship, and sustainable solutions that strengthen communities across the Blue, Green, and Red Economies. Through this approach, the organisation contributes to economic growth while supporting climate resilience in the sectors most critical to the region's future.
CCSA organises its work around three core approaches that move Caribbean climate priorities from plan to financed, investment-ready action:
Moving Capital to Solutions at the Climate Smart Summit
The quarter's flagship achievement was the inaugural Climate Smart Summit, hosted by CCSA in Barbados on 16 and 17 June 2026. Built around the central theme “What's Your Number?”, the Summit challenged every participant to name the level of investment, capital, or commitment they were seeking or prepared to make. Every conversation produced a specific figure, not a general statement of intent.
The Summit brought together more than 100 participants from 49 regional and international organizations across 13 countries and territories spanning the Caribbean, North America, Europe, and Africa. The strongest cohort was the private sector at 26 percent, joined by investors, development finance institutions, philanthropies, government representatives, academia, civil society, and climate-smart entrepreneurs. This deliberately curated mix positioned the Summit as a platform for connecting solutions directly with the capital and partnerships required to deliver them.
By the close of the two days, the following investment opportunities had been added to CCSA's pipeline:
Day One - Investor Forum
Day One featured the Climate Smart Investor Forum, where six Caribbean entrepreneurs each delivered a seven-minute pitch to a panel of investors, development partners, and funding institutions. All six ventures were sourced directly from the Innovation Fund Caribbean pipeline. EcoWash Global, Crissteek Gold, and Little Zion at Syndicate Falls presented as graduates of the first cohort's project preparation component. GrenadaGrows presented as an active member of the second cohort. CaribPac Farms participated as a Tipping Point Grant applicant under assessment, and Rum and Sargassum presented on the strength of targeted matchmaking facilitated by CCSA. Project preparation continues to be delivered in collaboration with RevUp Caribbean. Immediately following the Summit, CCSA began processing the Investor Forum grants awarded to each entrepreneur, and every founder who pitched has been introduced to at least one prospective funder.
The Forum was evaluated by a judging panel drawn from the Caribbean Development Bank, Sygnus Capital, and CrossBoundary Advisory, which tested each venture against commercial and climate criteria and set out the due diligence steps required to move from pitch to term sheet. Sygnus Capital's Gregory Samuels rated the field strongly, noting that “all the presentations are solving relevant climate problems in the Caribbean.” CrossBoundary Advisory's Veronica Hildenbrand observed that several investment asks were conservative and that “entrepreneurs need to challenge themselves.” Speaking to founders on capital strategy, IDB Invest's Darryl White advised them to “make your project investable first” and to attract capital in the right places at the right time.
Day Two - Marketplace and Awards
Day Two convened leaders from government, finance, philanthropy, business, and civil society for the main Summit. The Climate Investment Marketplace gave entrepreneurs and project developers a stage to present national and regional projects seeking investment while advancing discussion on blended finance, project preparation, philanthropy, and public-private partnerships. The programme concluded with the inaugural Climate Smart Awards, recognising the countries, territories, organizations, philanthropic partners, and individuals driving climate-smart development across the region. Barbados was named Climate-Smart Country of the Year and Curaçao Climate-Smart Overseas Territory of the Year, both determined through an assessment of indicators compiled within the Climate Smart Map. The Caribbean Biodiversity Fund was recognised as Climate-Smart Philanthropist of the Year, and Innovation Fund venture GrenadaGrows was named Climate-Smart Mitigation Project of the Year.
Impact and Follow-Through
The Summit was engineered to generate transactions, and the immediate results reflect that design. Every entrepreneur who pitched at the Investor Forum has been introduced to at least one prospective funder, and CCSA has begun disbursing the Investor Forum grants awarded to each venture. Every project presented in the Climate Investment Marketplace has likewise been matched to a prospective funding partner, forming the first stage of a sustained deal-flow pipeline. The bankability session examined more than US$12 billion in available development finance, and over the next 18 months CCSA will run structured matchmaking and due diligence to route investment-ready projects toward that capital. The Spotlight on Jamaica session has already moved into execution, connecting philanthropic funders with one another, and CCSA is matching philanthropic capital to award-winning initiatives, including the Clara Lionel Foundation's solar-powered mobile emergency clinic.
The Summit's reach extended beyond the two days. Pre and post-event media coverage across Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Jamaica, and Barbados carried the discussions to regional audiences and broadened exposure for participating organizations and their investment opportunities. CCSA acknowledges the leadership of the Inter-American Development Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank, and CAF, alongside the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, the Caribbean Philanthropic Alliance, the Clara Lionel Foundation, and NewEnergy Events, whose collaboration made the inaugural Summit possible. CCSA will track the resulting projects, partnerships, and financing across an 18-month measurement period, and preparations for the Climate Smart Summit 2028 are already underway.
Preparing Climate Entrepreneurs Today for a Sustainable Caribbean Tomorrow
The Innovation Fund Caribbean continues to bridge the gap between innovation and investment, supporting entrepreneurs and early-stage ventures advancing solutions in climate resilience, sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, the blue economy, and the circular economy. Following the graduation of the first Project Preparation Facility cohort in December 2025, delivered in partnership with RevUp Caribbean and the Caribbean Development Bank, CCSA has continued to build out Cohort 2, which comprises six high-potential ventures across the Blue, Green, and Circular Economy sectors.
This quarter demonstrated the Fund's role as CCSA's core deal-sourcing engine. Every venture featured in the Summit's Investor Forum was drawn from the Innovation Fund pipeline, evidence that the preparation model is producing investment-ready solutions capable of standing in front of development finance institutions and impact investors. Through catalytic grants, technical mentorship, and access to regional networks, the Fund helps entrepreneurs refine their solutions, strengthen their business models, and position climate-focused ventures for future investment and scale.
Connecting Regional Stakeholders to Climate-Driven Data
The Climate Smart Map is the Caribbean's regional climate investment intelligence platform, bringing together thousands of data points across every Caribbean territory to give investors, governments, entrepreneurs, and development partners a single digital gateway to demographic, climate, and investment information. Where data is not housed directly on the platform, users are connected to trusted regional and international sources, reducing the time and cost of accessing reliable information.
The platform's value as a decision-support tool was put to work at the Summit, where the data compiled within the Climate Smart Map supplied the climate, policy, and investment indicators used to determine the Climate-Smart Country and Climate-Smart Overseas Territory of the Year awards. CCSA continues to expand the platform's data partnerships and functionality, strengthening its role as a shared source of intelligence for planning, coordination, and investment across the region.
Curating Climate Projects for Regional Investment
Through its engagement with the GFANZ Caribbean Chapter, CCSA continues to strengthen the region's climate finance pipeline by connecting climate initiatives with financial institutions seeking credible investment opportunities. The Chapter was represented at the Summit through a dedicated resilience panel moderated by Gerald Lindo, Director of the GFANZ Caribbean Chapter, featuring the GraceKennedy Foundation, Recycling Partners of Jamaica, Kee Farms, and the United Nations Development Programme. The panel identified concrete collaboration opportunities spanning several million dollars in capital and technical support, reinforcing the case for connecting regional climate priorities to capital seeking net-zero and resilience-linked investments.
Advancing Climate Innovation and Resilience
Alongside these core enablers, CCSA continues to support initiatives that strengthen regional climate innovation and produce evidence to inform future investment and policy decisions.
Climate-Smart Agriculture
Food security and climate-smart agriculture remained central to CCSA's work this quarter and featured prominently at the Summit. Agriculture and agribusiness ventures made up a significant share of the Investor Forum pipeline, and GrenadaGrows, an Innovation Fund venture, was recognised as Climate-Smart Mitigation Project of the Year. This focus corresponds directly to the CARICOM “25 by 2025” goal of reducing the region's food import bill by 25 percent, keeping more investment, jobs, and opportunity within the Caribbean while building a more resilient regional food system. CCSA's hydroponic pilot programme continues across participating countries as the organisation refines scalable, climate-smart production models.
Convening Regional Energy Stakeholders
CCSA continues to facilitate regional dialogue on the energy transition, bringing together regional and international stakeholders to coordinate efforts and identify new investment opportunities. Renewable energy expansion featured across the Summit programme, supported by the participation of the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency. These platforms coordinate stakeholders around shared priorities and accelerate the development of climate solutions in the region's energy sector.
Continuing to Advance a Climate-Smart Caribbean
Across these initiatives, CCSA continues to build the conditions required for climate innovation, investment, and resilience to take hold in the Caribbean. The inaugural Climate Smart Summit demonstrated the organisation's distinctive model in action. Instead of simply convening conversations, CCSA curates them, matching prepared projects with the capital and partnerships needed to move them into implementation.
As this work continues to evolve, CCSA remains committed to advancing practical, scalable solutions that contribute to a resilient, climate-smart Caribbean. Join us in transforming the Caribbean by supporting our work.
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