In late 2020, Joshua Cortez and Pia Faustino became the first two Filipinos to complete Terra.do’s Climate Change: Learning for Action fellowship. At the time, they were data science professionals working for competing Manila-based firms. Fast forward three years, and they’ve become collaborators on groundbreaking projects that leverage Geospatial AI to tackle climate challenges in one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries.

In this session, Joshua and Pia will share how they created their own pathways into climate work, highlight lessons from their journey, and showcase impactful projects, including a first-of-its-kind nationwide rooftop solar inventory for the Philippines, built using computer vision and satellite imagery.

Join us to hear their story of turning skills into solutions for climate resilience.

How do you move from identifying a climate challenge to building a venture that creates real-world solutions?

This interactive workshop is designed for aspiring climate entrepreneurs who want to understand the fundamentals of innovation, problem-solving, and venture-building in the climate space. Through guided exercises and group discussions, participants will explore the core elements of climate entrepreneurship -- spotting opportunities, developing solutions, and shaping them into scalable, impactful ventures.

Led by Aishwarya Kuruttukulam, Director at ClimateHaven, who supports founders in growing impactful climate startups, and head of the Water Innovation Hub, a collaborative initiative with the Regional Water Authority, this workshop offers participants both practical tools and inspiration. Come ready to engage, collaborate, and leave with a clearer path from idea to impact.

Join us for a conversation with Emmet Murphy, a seasoned founder, food security and climate leader with over 25 years of experience driving sustainable agriculture across Africa, the Caribbean, and the Middle East. 

Emmet will share lessons from his work leading large-scale, agricultural development and tech-enabled adaptation projects from deploying AI-powered tools and drones in rural farming systems to managing complex USAID programs in frontier markets.

Drawing on his experience with smallholder farming communities, he'll explore how climate change is disrupting agriculture and what practical, scalable solutions are emerging to build resilience. This session will unpack:

• The evolving climate risks facing smallholder farmers across Africa
• How inclusive innovation and local insight can drive adaptation and systemic change
• The role of digital tools in transforming last-mile agricultural systems
• Real-world stories from Haiti, Rwanda, Nigeria, and beyond
• Leading agrifoodtech/fintech start-ups and recent fundraising trends