India-Based Organizations Win Big with APAC Sustainability Seed Fund 2.0 Grants

Four organizations from India have been chosen among 14 other recipients across the Asia Pacific region to receive grants under the APAC Sustainability Seed Fund 2.0, supported by a USD 5-million donation from Google.org. The fund aims to drive technology and AI-based solutions for environmental and social issues.

Four India-based organisations have been selected among 14 other recipients across the Asia Pacific region for grants under the APAC Sustainability Seed Fund 2.0, backed by a USD 5-million grant from Google.org, the tech giant's philanthropic arm.

The fund, managed by Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN), aims to foster technology- and AI-driven solutions addressing critical environmental and social challenges.

The Indian recipients include INREM Foundation, CEPT Research and Development Foundation (CRDF), Institute for Financial Management and Research (WELL Labs), and Gujarat Mahila Housing Sewa Trust (MHT), according to a statement from Google.org.

INREM Foundation will develop AI-enabled open digital solutions for community access to water contamination data. CRDF plans to use machine learning and satellite imagery to protect lakes and their carbon sink function. WELL Labs will develop advanced models for village-level water security insights, while MHT will create an AI-powered model to identify urban heat islands and suggest community-centric solutions, the statement added.

This initiative follows Google.org's earlier USD 3 million grant to APAC Sustainability Seed Fund 1.0, which supported projects that saved over 13 million tonnes of water and mitigated 3,700 tonnes of carbon emissions in India's agriculture sector.

(With inputs from agencies.)