When Jop Blom first began working with climate entrepreneurs in Colombia in 2019, he saw an enormous gap, not in talent, but in access. Across Latin America, founders were full of bold ideas for solving the climate crisis but had few pathways to funding, mentorship, or markets.
That frustration became the spark for CleantechHUB, a growing network of physical and virtual hubs that connect early-stage climate entrepreneurs across the Global South to investors, partners, and pilot opportunities: a bridge between local innovators tackling on-the-ground problems and the global capital, data, and know-how they need to scale.
We bridge the missing middle, from idea to investor-ready startup,” says founder Jop Blom. “And while hybrid works, nothing replaces the spark of people meeting in person.
From its first hub in Bogotá, CleantechHUB has expanded across Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru, and Guatemala, helping over 1,000 startups unlock $10 million in capital, create 3,000 green jobs, and avoid 5 megatons of CO₂. The next step: building a Global South Platform that allows these hubs to share data, connect with international investors, and replicate their model continent to continent.
“CleantechHUB started as an idea in Colombia and is now a movement across continents,” he adds. “Our goal is simple, empower those who dare to fix climate change from the ground up.”
How the model works
Each CleantechHUB site acts as both incubator and connector, offering tailored programs for ideation, incubation, and acceleration while embedding itself inside universities and municipalities. Founders gain access to mentors, labs, and pilot partners right where they live, rather than having to relocate or chase Western funding networks.
The hubs follow a shared playbook: scout promising ideas, run structured acceleration programs, link founders to market pilots, and remain engaged as those ventures raise and scale. All data and learnings feed into a central digital platform designed to replicate success across the Global South.
Everything is local,” Blom explains. “Universities, mentors, entrepreneurs, all tuned to local challenges within a global climate mission.
Closing the Climate-Startup gap
Across emerging economies, fewer than 5 percent of climate startups reach the growth stage. Ecosystems remain fragmented; investors stay concentrated in capitals; and public procurement rarely rewards innovation.
CleantechHUB exists to close those gaps, mobilising catalytic capital, building local capacity, and transforming isolated founders into a connected movement. Its target for the next 24 months: support another 1,000 startups, unlock $15 million in investment, and create 3,000 green jobs through new hubs and replication of proven models.
Jop’s advice for founders
Be realistic. Don’t chase every market: focus, validate, and own your niche before scaling.
He looks for clarity, grit, and proactivity; founders who don’t wait for permission to move. When given just 60 seconds to pitch, Jop says:
“Tell me the industry you’re about to disrupt, and show me the traction proving it.”
Startup success
From Zhana in Colombia, turning kitchen waste into biofuel with municipal partners, to Sunco, a solar company raising its Series B to expand community energy access, to Clover in Spain, a revolutionary asset-light e-mobility venture building its first Latin pilot, CleantechHUB’s alumni show how Global South founders can scale impact when ecosystems connect.
So far, the network has supported 1,000 startups, leveraged $10 million, created 3,000 jobs, and helped avoid 5 megatons of CO₂, aiming for 50 by 2030.
From Latin America to a Global South Platform
What makes CleantechHUB distinctive is its South-to-South logic. Rather than exporting Western accelerator models, it builds capacity across emerging economies — connecting Colombia to Costa Rica, or Peru to Guatemala — so local founders can learn from one another and co-develop solutions suited to similar contexts.
The eventual bridge to Europe, including its new hub in Barcelona, is a natural extension of that mission — a way to bring Global South innovation into dialogue with global investors while keeping the leadership firmly rooted in the South.
LATAM is full of talent but short on capital,” says Blom. “Now more than ever we need ecosystems that make innovation possible from the ground up.
Inclusive, Measurable Impact
CleantechHUB tracks its results through an impact scorecard measuring CO₂ avoided, waste reduced, jobs created, and capital mobilised — verified through startup data and independent dashboards. The organisation has gender mainstreaming goals of at least 50 percent women-led startups, alongside strong youth and rural representation to reflect each society’s diversity.
Daily ritual for success
Every morning at 5 a.m., Jop starts his day with reflection and gratitude. His mantra:
The best way to predict a better future is to create it.
……If he could teleport himself into the future, by 2030, he envisions not just having created a catalytic capital fund but a networked ecosystem where investors and founders across the Global South co-finance one another’s growth, proving that the climate transition can be led from the South up, not the North down.
