Win Up to $25,000: Hindu Kush Himalaya Innovation Challenge for Entrepreneurs 2026

If you run a for-profit venture or are an entrepreneur with a market-ready idea for the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region, this is one of those opportunities that can move your project from promising to practical. The HKH Innovation Challenge for Entrepreneurs (HKH-ICE 2.0) is calling for locally led, ecologically mindful businesses from Bhutan, the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, the Indian Himalayan states, and Nepal. Winners get more than cash: targeted mentoring, measurement support, communications coaching, and access to networks that can help you scale.

This competition is specifically designed for mountain contexts — places where steep slopes, shrinking glaciers, fragile soils, and sparse markets combine into a tricky business environment. If your model addresses water stress, resilient farming, climate-smart tourism, or safer housing and settlement planning for climate-affected communities, you’re in the right conversation. The prize pool runs from modest seed grants ($5,000) to significant scale-up awards (up to $25,000), and the program packs in tailored technical assistance that can be more valuable than a check alone.

Read on for a full breakdown: who should apply, how to structure your application, what the judges are actually looking for, and a realistic timeline so you don’t cram the night before the deadline (January 16, 2026, 23:59 GMT). By the end you’ll have a clear to-do list and a strategy to turn your pitch into a winning submission.

At a Glance

What This Opportunity Offers

This contest isn’t just about handing out funds. Yes, winners receive prize money between $5,000 and $25,000 to develop and scale their solutions. But equally important is the wraparound support: customized mentoring on leadership and scaling, communications coaching to tell your story to investors or buyers, monitoring-evaluation-learning (MEL) guidance so you can measure impact, and help with resource mobilisation to connect you with follow-on funding. Think of the grant as fuel and the mentoring as navigation — one gets your engine running, the other shows you which road to take.

For entrepreneurs in mountain regions, those additional supports matter a lot. Markets are small, logistics are hard, and climate risks are immediate. The programme focuses on market-ready, commercially viable solutions that are also ecologically grounded — meaning your business model must show financial sustainability while protecting or restoring mountain ecosystems. Expect reviewers to look for practical examples of market adoption: who’s buying your product now, how repeatable is the revenue model, and what partnerships could help you grow.

Beyond money and coaching, submission to HKH-ICE also brings visibility. Winners often get introductions to regional funders, NGOs, and local governments. That kind of exposure can open procurement or pilot opportunities that money alone won’t buy. If your aim is to scale across districts or into neighboring countries, the network effect here can be decisive.

Who Should Apply

This competition is aimed squarely at entrepreneurs with market-ready ideas — not concept-stage projects. You should apply if your enterprise operates, pilots, or plans to implement in the specified HKH geographies: Bhutan; the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh; the Indian Himalayan states (for example, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Jammu & Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, etc.); or Nepal. Individual innovators, social enterprises with revenue models, and small for-profit firms are all welcome, provided the project is commercially plausible and geared to strengthen climate resilience.

For example, a mountain agro-processing startup making value-added products from native crops that improves farmer incomes and biodiversity would fit well. A microenterprise offering low-cost, climate-resilient housing retrofit kits designed for hillside settlements is another good match. So is an SME piloting pay-as-you-go micro-irrigation systems that conserve water and help farmers through dry spells. However, if your idea is still in research-only mode with no plan to sell or scale, this is probably not for you.

HKH-ICE 1.0 winners cannot apply to 2.0, but previous applicants who didn’t win can try again if they’ve made meaningful progress since their last submission. If you partner with local communities, show letters of intent or early purchase commitments; those make your application much more credible. Lastly, your enterprise doesn’t need to be large — many winners are small teams — but you must demonstrate operational readiness and a clear use for the funds.

Call Focus and Example Themes

The judges are seeking solutions that tangibly strengthen resilience for both people and ecosystems across mountain landscapes. Areas of focus include, but are not limited to:

• Resilient agriculture and nature-based products: think agroforestry value chains, niche high-value crops, and non-timber forest products that enhance incomes while conserving biodiversity.
• Water security and catchment resilience: systems that tackle scarcity or volatility, including storage, demand management, and community-based water services that account for glacial change and extreme flows.
• Climate-smart tourism: models that create local livelihoods while protecting fragile ecosystems, such as community-run eco-lodges with low-impact supply chains.
• Risk-informed settlement and housing: products and services that reduce exposure to landslides, floods, and seasonal displacement — for instance, retrofitting packages or planning tools for migration-prone communities.

Use these themes to frame your application. The strongest proposals connect technical feasibility with immediate social and economic benefits.

Insider Tips for a Winning Application

1. Start with the problem, not the product. Describe a concrete pain point a community experiences — a water shortage at a specific time of year, declining yields on a particular slope, loss of tourists because trails are unsafe — then show how your product solves that pain and who pays for it.

2. Show traction. Evidence of demand matters more than beauty. Provide sales numbers, pilot metrics, farmer adoption rates, letters of intent, or distribution agreements. If you’ve run a 3-month pilot with 50 households, say what you measured and what changed.

3. Be explicit about ecological benefits. Since the programme prioritises ecologically grounded solutions, quantify how your activity helps biodiversity, soil health, water retention, or reduces emissions. Even simple metrics — hectares under improved management, percentage reduction in water use — help.

4. Build a clear business case. Explain unit economics: cost to serve, expected price, margins, and break-even timeline. Reviewers aren’t expecting a venture capital deck, but they do want to see that your model is financially defensible.

5. Plan for scale with logistics in mind. Mountain transport is expensive. Show how you’ll reach more users cost-effectively — through aggregation, mobile-enabled sales, local partnerships, or digital distribution.

6. Use plain language and local context. Avoid jargon. Say “rice seed varieties that yield 20% more on terraced farms in District X” rather than “genetic varietal improvements.” Reviewers are people; make it easy for them to picture impact.

7. Request funds strategically. Ask only for what will move the needle. If $10,000 lets you secure a 12-month pilot and partnerships, ask for $10,000. If your real plan needs $25,000, justify each line item so reviewers see the logic.

8. Prepare MEL from the start. Even simple monitoring frameworks elevate applications. Define 3–5 key indicators you’ll track, how you’ll collect them, and how they inform decision-making.

9. Leverage local partnerships. Letters of support from community groups, local government, or cooperatives show you’re plugged in and reduce perceived risk.

10. Tell a human story. Add a brief case study or profile of someone who benefited in your pilot. Numbers matter, but stories make judges remember you.

These tips are practical because reviewers often see pitches that sound great in abstract but fall apart under logistics or economics. Anticipate those questions and answer them before they’re asked.

Application Timeline (Work Backwards)

Start at least eight weeks before the deadline. That gives you time to collect documents, run last-minute pilots if necessary, and iterate on narrative and budget. A recommended schedule:

• 16 January 2026: Application due (23:59 GMT). Submit at least 48 hours early to avoid portal issues.
• February 2026: Shortlisted applicants notified.
• Early January 2026: Finalize letters of support and institutional documents.
• December 2025: Complete full draft and circulate to two reviewers (one technical, one non-technical).
• November 2025: Gather pilot data, confirm partnerships, and draft budget.
• October 2025: Outline narrative and MEL framework, identify potential weaknesses to address.

If you wait until the last week, you’ll be competing with better-prepared teams. Give yourself time to test assumptions and get feedback.

Required Materials and How to Prepare Them

Prepare the following, written clearly and concisely:

• Project narrative: A clear description of the problem, your solution, evidence of demand, implementation plan, timeline, and expected outcomes. Use concrete numbers and geographic references.
• Budget and budget justification: Line-item budget explaining how every dollar will be used and why it is essential.
• Evidence of traction: Pilot reports, sales receipts, user testimonials, or early MOUs with buyers or partners.
• Team CVs or bios: Short bios showing relevant experience and roles. Highlight local knowledge and implementation capacity.
• Letters of support: Specific commitments from partners (e.g., “Coop X will distribute the product to 120 farmers in Year 1”).
• MEL plan: A short monitoring and evaluation plan with 3–5 indicators, data collection method, frequency, and how you’ll use findings.
• Legal/registration documents: Proof of business registration or other local compliance documents if requested.

Write these materials with a single reader in mind: a busy reviewer who needs to understand impact and feasibility in five minutes. Use headings, short paragraphs, and data tables where helpful. If you need someone to sign a letter, give them a short template and at least two weeks to respond.

What Makes an Application Stand Out

Applications that rise to the top combine credible impact with practical scale plans. Standout traits include:

• Clear demand signals: confirmed customers, pre-orders, or pilot uptake.
• Measurable ecological benefits: quantified improvements to soil, water, biodiversity or reduced hazard exposure.
• Financial clarity: realistic unit economics and a path to sustainability beyond the prize.
• Local ownership: leadership from people who understand local constraints and can operationalise solutions.
• Risk management: honest assessment of obstacles (supply chain, seasonality, regulatory) and concrete mitigation strategies.
• Replicability: a model that can be adapted across similar mountain areas with minor changes.

Remember: an excellent proposal reduces the reviewer’s uncertainty. If you answer the hard questions — how you’ll reach customers, how you’ll measure results, what you’ll do if a test fails — you look like someone who can actually deliver.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Asking for money without a clear plan. Don’t request funds and then describe vague intentions. Link each budget line to a deliverable or milestone.

2. Overpromising on scale. Saying you’ll reach thousands overnight without partners or logistics undermines credibility. Be realistic and explain phased growth.

3. Ignoring local context. Solutions that work in plains may fail on steep slopes. Demonstrate you’ve tested or adapted your model for mountainous terrain.

4. Leaving out basic unit economics. If you don’t show how your product makes money, reviewers will assume it’s unsustainable.

5. Submitting incomplete documents. Missing letters, unclear budgets, or vague MEL plans create red flags. Use a checklist and confirm every file uploads.

6. Jargon and abstract language. If your narrative uses too much technical vocabulary, non-specialist reviewers will lose patience. Make it accessible.

For each mistake, offer a remedial action. If your budget seems high, provide a cost breakdown. If you lack a local partner, explain how you’ll secure one and timeline for doing so.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can NGOs and non-profits apply?
A: This call targets for-profit organisations and local entrepreneurs with market-ready models. Non-profits that run revenue-generating social enterprises may be eligible if they can demonstrate commercial viability.

Q: Are consortiums allowed?
A: Partnerships are useful, but your lead applicant should meet eligibility requirements and be able to manage funds. Clearly define roles and responsibilities in your submission.

Q: What counts as “market-ready”?
A: You should have a tested prototype or pilot with demonstrated uptake or a clear path to sales within months. Plans still stuck in the lab are unlikely to succeed.

Q: Can funding be used for capital equipment?
A: Yes, if equipment is essential to scaling and justified in the budget. Explain procurement plans and how you’ll operate and maintain the equipment in mountain conditions.

Q: What happens after winning?
A: Winners receive grant funds and tailored support — mentorship, MEL coaching, communications help, and resource mobilisation assistance. These supports often help secure further investment.

Q: Is co-financing required?
A: Not explicitly, but showing committed co-funding or cost-sharing can strengthen your case.

Q: Do international partners disqualify applications?
A: International partners can participate, but the implementation focus must be local to the eligible HKH geographies and the lead should be a local entity or entrepreneur.

Next Steps and How to Apply

Ready to take action? Here’s a concise playbook:

1. Confirm eligibility and your geographic focus. If you operate in or plan to implement in Bhutan, Chittagong Hill Tracts, an Indian Himalayan state, or Nepal, proceed.
2. Draft a tight one-page concept summarising problem, solution, traction, and ask. Use this to get quick feedback from colleagues.
3. Assemble required documents: project narrative, budget, MEL plan, team bios, and letters of support. Start collecting signatures and MOUs now.
4. Run a dry run: have one non-technical friend read your application and time how long it takes to grasp the impact. If they struggle, simplify.
5. Submit at least 48 hours before 16 January 2026 (23:59 GMT) to avoid portal glitches.

Get Started

Ready to apply? Visit the official submission page and read full guidelines before you begin: https://globalresiliencepartnership.submittable.com/submit/343503/hkh-ice-2-0

If you want help polishing your narrative or budget, draft your one-page concept and I can help you tighten it into a compelling application. Good luck — mountain work is hard, but with the right plan and partners, your idea can make a real difference.