KPMG launches latest round of $370,000 Nature Positive Challenge
Big Four accounting and consulting firm KPMG has launched the latest round of its annual Nature Positive Challenge, with $370,000 worth of prizes and professional services up for grabs.
Launched in 2022 and later expanded to Fiji and Papua New Guinea, the initiative aims to support innovative regional startups and entrepreneurs to build scalable businesses which will have a positive impact on nature and the environment.
The five selected finalists will share in a pool of consulting, tax and accounting services worth $250,000, while the winning venture will take home a $100,000 prize. A further $20,000 people’s choice prize will be awarded as voted on by KPMG staff.
“Now entering its fourth year, the KPMG Nature Positive challenge has helped champion some of the region’s most exciting startups working to solve big ecological challenges,” said KPMG Australia CEO Andrew Yates. “We are also proud to continue to recognise innovative startups, social enterprises, and impact ventures in a dedicated First Nations startups category.”
Past winners include biodiversity intelligence platform Xylo Systems and alternative plastic producer Uluu, with Levur, an ethical oil start-up, taking home last year’s major prize. Co-founder and CEO Tom Collier said that beyond the financial boost and KPMG’s expertise, winning the challenge was “a powerful affirmation of the mission our team is committed to.”
Focused last year on the regenerative economy and sustainable food systems, this year’s challenge will centre on two fast-growing segments within the ‘nature-positive’ ecosystem: AI-powered solutions to accelerate the regeneration of natural systems and tackle biodiversity loss, and circular economy startups supporting nature by transforming resource use to reduce waste.
Alongside tailored support services and business guidance from the KPMG team, finalists will also be connected to potentially-beneficial industry, business, science, knowledge, and community partners, along with impact investors, with Uluu for example having since collaborated with Quiksilver after having earlier raised $8.6 million in seed funding.
Applications are open until the 9th of November, with the winner to be decided early next year and the finalists selected by a panel of expert judges, including KPMG board director Patty Akopiantz, chief digital officer John Munnelly, and global private enterprise ESG lead Josh Geelan, alongside Black Excellence Fund co-founder Kyah Bell and the WWF-Australia’s Darren Grover.
