Apply Now: Nature Intelligence for Business Grand Challenge 2025

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Application Deadline: November 24, 2025

The Nature Intelligence for Business Grand Challenge 2025 is a global initiative launched to transform how small and medium enterprises (SMEs) engage with nature-related data and sustainability intelligence. Organized by Conservation X Labs, in collaboration with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), this challenge aims to make nature-related assessments accessible, actionable, and practical for SMEs worldwide.

With support from the Government of Germany’s International Climate Initiative, the program offers innovators a unique opportunity to design tools and technologies that help businesses understand their dependencies, risks, and impacts on nature — while advancing sustainable business practices.

Why This Challenge Matters

SMEs make up nearly 90% of businesses globally and contribute to more than half of worldwide employment. Despite their influence, many SMEs struggle to access reliable environmental data or integrate sustainability into their operations due to limited resources, low digital literacy, and technical constraints.

The Nature Intelligence for Business Grand Challenge bridges this gap by supporting innovations that simplify how SMEs access, interpret, and act on nature-related information. The goal is to help small businesses navigate the growing need for environmental accountability and resilience in a changing world.

What the Challenge Seeks

The Challenge invites groundbreaking innovations that leverage the TNFD’s LEAP framework — Locate, Evaluate, Assess, and Prepare — to embed nature intelligence into SME operations. Proposed solutions should make environmental assessment tools intuitive, multilingual, and easily adaptable to diverse business contexts.

Key features of ideal solutions include:

  • Minimal training requirements and user-friendly design.
  • Multi-language availability for global accessibility.
  • Actionable, easy-to-understand outputs.
  • Functionality in low-connectivity or remote environments.
  • Compatibility with smart devices and open business models.

Innovations can take the form of digital platforms, data-driven tools, or automated systems that make nature-related assessments more inclusive and affordable. The Challenge prioritizes practical and scalable approaches that can be implemented by SMEs regardless of technical capacity or infrastructure limitations.

Benefits for Participants

Finalists and winners will share a total prize pool of USD 100,000, including testing stipends, development grants, and access to a global network of partners. Beyond financial rewards, participants will gain:

  • Global recognition and media exposure.
  • Mentorship from leading experts in sustainability and innovation.
  • Technical and business development support to scale their solutions.
  • Partnership opportunities with industry leaders and policymakers.
  • Preferred market access to test and deploy their innovations.

This initiative not only celebrates innovation but also fosters collaboration between businesses, researchers, and environmental organizations. It empowers changemakers to turn data into actionable insights that protect ecosystems and promote sustainable enterprise growth.

Who Should Apply

The Challenge is open to innovators, entrepreneurs, startups, and research teams developing solutions that integrate technology and nature intelligence for business use. Whether you are building digital dashboards, AI-driven data tools, or mobile applications for environmental reporting, your idea could help reshape how SMEs interact with nature-related information.

Solutions should promote inclusivity, usability, and sustainability — making environmental intelligence accessible even to small enterprises operating in emerging economies.

Funding and Support

The Nature Intelligence for Business Grand Challenge provides flexible funding ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, depending on project scale and potential impact. These funds are intended to accelerate prototype development, field testing, and scaling for the most promising solutions.

In addition, selected innovators will benefit from access to Conservation X Labs’ innovation ecosystem, connecting them to partners within the UNDP network, TNFD alliance, and international climate and sustainability organizations.

How to Apply

Interested applicants can visit the official website at for complete eligibility criteria, submission guidelines, and application details. The deadline to apply is November 24, 2025.

This is a rare opportunity to shape the future of sustainable business by developing practical, inclusive, and tech-enabled solutions that make nature intelligence accessible to all.

For more information and to apply, CLICK HERE 

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