
Dubai – Sharikat Mubasher: Abu Dhabi’s startup accelerator startAD, in partnership with VentureSouq and the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD), has launched the third edition of the Conscious Investor Fellowship (CIF 3.0), now exclusively focused on ClimateTech investment.
Running from April to July 2025, the eight-week, invite-only program will host 25 senior-level participants from sovereign wealth funds, family offices, government entities, and corporations, as per a recent press release. The fellowship offers a tailored curriculum on early-stage climate investing led by global experts from the venture capital, finance, and philanthropy sectors.
The EAD, a key partner in this edition, is aligning the initiative with its 2026–2030 strategy and the Abu Dhabi Climate Change Strategy 2023–2027, positioning the program as a vehicle for scaling regional climate finance.
Despite growing ClimateTech interest in MENA, the region currently accounts for just 0.2% of global funding in the sector. CIF 3.0 aims to close this gap by empowering investors to unlock early-stage opportunities in areas such as food security, climate fintech, and carbon markets.
The program will conclude with the Angel Rising Investment Symposium, one of the region’s leading gatherings for impact investors.