Nature, Culture, Capital
Regenerating Economies & Re-imagining Cities Today
Friday, 27 June 2025 Agenda*
*subject to minor changes
8.30 am | Breakfast.
Registration Opens
Enjoy freshly brewed coffee, tea and light refreshments.
9.00 am | Summit Starts
Welcome, Introduction and Ice Breaker
Topic overview + Format of the Day: To Scale Innovation, Replicate Success, Funding and Deployment
9.25 am | Session #1
Leading Climate Innovators. Real Solutions. Lasting Impact - Presented by The Earthshot Prize
This dynamic pitch session spotlights four trailblazing entrepreneurs backed by The Earthshot Prize as they share breakthrough solutions transforming climate and economic resilience on the ground. From regenerative construction to carbon-removing tech and sustainable materials, these innovators are proving what’s possible — and what’s scalable — when bold ideas meet urgent need.
Innovators:
Mary Allen, Natural Fiber Welding (NFW)
Nicholas Hill, Coast 4C
Shweta Sijapati, Build up Nepal
Francis Nderitu, Keep IT Cool
9:45 am | Session #2
From Pilot to Planet - Making Urban Innovation Stick, Scale, and Spread
Cities are rich with innovation—but too often, breakthroughs get stuck at the pilot stage.
This session explores how to break down the barriers to replicating and scaling urban innovations across systems and borders. We’ll dive into what’s working, what’s missing, and how to better connect innovation ecosystems across public, private, and civic sectors. From local success stories to global pathways for deployment, we’ll unpack how cities and innovators can move faster, together.
Moderator: Mehrnaz Ghojeh, Okhtapus
Panelists:
10:25 am | Session #3
How Bioregional Financing Can Pave the Way to a Regenerative Economy
Bioregional Financing Facilities (BFFs) are a new type of financial institution designed to serve the bioregional movement.
By connecting integrated capital raised to flow to aggregated portfolios of regenerative projects on the ground - BFFs can drive the decentralization of financial resource governance, design of project portfolios for systemic change, and the transition to a regenerative economy.
In Conversation: Leon Seefeld, DM Capital, Dark Matter Labs with Justin Adams OBE, Ostara
The Art of Forests - An Introduction
The Art of Forests (AOF) is a global community of practice, made up of land stewarding individuals and organisations, all dedicated to protecting and restoring the natural environment using nature-based solutions — reforestation, afforestation, ecosystem restoration and conservation.
By responding to the emergent needs of community members, facilitating collective learning and knowledge sharing, the AOF nurtures true collaboration in action so that both people and planet can thrive.
11:15 am | 15 minute
Coffee Break
11:30 am | Session #4
Scaling Climate Tech Startups to Series A+: Meet the Female Leader and Funders Who Backed Them
Bridging the gender gap in climate-tech investing is an ongoing mission at Concave & The Table. This joint innovator-funder panel conversation will feature the barriers & hard truths startups face, but showcase what’s possible when capital does flow in the right direction. Let’s shift the narrative on what scale looks like when women lead.
Introduction: Julie Blane, Founding Partner, The Table
Moderator: Illai Gescheit, Systemiq Capital / Gescheit & Partners
Panelists:
Jade Cohen, Qualis Flow
Hugh Bartlett, Green Angel Ventures
12:20 pm | Pulse Check
5-minute interactive spark
12:25 pm | Lunch
Enjoy a seasonal and sustainably sourced summer salad and pasta menu from 180 Studios.
13:25 pm | Session #5
Nature Tech 101 – How to Build Your Nature Positive Path Tomorrow
Discover how technology is revolutionizing nature restoration while creating sustainable business opportunities.
This session demystifies nature tech through an accessible framework: the Nature Tech Taxonomy and showcases three pioneering case studies across different ecosystems and applications.
Moderator: Paige Perillat Piratoine, Nature Tech Collective
Panelists:
2:10 pm | Session #6
Seeing the Forest Through the Trees: How Carbon Credits Can Catalyze the Biodiversity Market
With over one million species at risk of extinction, biodiversity loss is a major threat to climate resilience.
Carbon credits are one of our most effective tools to scale climate action, but they simply aren’t designed to deliver biodiversity outcomes. While carbon credits may not be nature’s silver bullet, they could still be part of the solution. This session explores how Ponterra plans to leverage carbon markets to jumpstart investment in biodiversity credits and drive ecological restoration at scale.
Speaker: Leigh Madeira, Ponterra
2:30 pm | Session #7
Tested, Proven… Now What? Unlocking the Path from Urban Innovation to Implementation
Behind every urban innovation is a messy, ambitious story of collaboration between those who build and those who back.
In this session, innovators and enablers come together for an honest dialogue about what it takes to pilot, deploy, and scale transformative solutions in cities. We’ll explore what each side needs, where the frictions lie, and how we can bridge the gap between promise and widespread adoption. From early wins to global ambitions, we’ll unpack the real barriers to replication—and the strategies that help overcome them.
Moderator: Victoria Burrows, Kompas VC
Speakers:
3:05 pm | 20 minute
Coffee Break
3:25 pm | Session #8
Cities in the Loop: Unlocking Urban Data for Climate Action
Cities generate mountains of climate-relevant data—but how do we transform that information into real, scalable impact?
This live discussion explores the future of climate data for cities, featuring OpenEarth’s groundbreaking new platform, CityCatalyst. Instead of a product showcase, this session opens the floor: what do cities really need from data? Who owns it, who uses it, and how do we align incentives for action? We’ll unpack the barriers, breakthroughs, and the power of shared intelligence in driving local and global change.
Speakers:
3:45 pm | Session #9
Blueprints and Budgets: Global Playbook for Inclusive Climate Finance
This session explores how cities structure themselves to receive, manage, and deploy finance—covering budgeting, innovative funding models, and strategies for global replication. Drawing lessons from cities like Mexico City, Jakarta, Freetown, and Cape Town, we’ll examine how urban projects move from plans to pipelines, and scale for impact.
Speakers:
Heather Matson, Bankers Without Boundaries
Mohamed Gaafar, GRYD
4:15 pm | Session #10
Innovating for Impact: Leveraging the Full Capital Spectrum
This session will explore how the Global Innovation Fund (GIF) leverages its investment approach to drive meaningful impact in climate adaptation and gender equity.
Drawing on its diverse portfolio and recent blended finance vehicle, the session will highlight how GIF uses tailored capital structures—ranging from grants to risk capital—to strengthen urban and rural resilience in low- and middle-income countries. Through concrete examples, it will showcase how to unlock innovative scalable solutions in fragile and underserved contexts.
Moderator: Mehrnaz Ghojeh, Okhtapus
Speakers:
4:35 pm | Interactive Closing Session
Wisdom weave and next steps.
4:45 pm | Drinks on us
Networking drinks
6.30 pm | End of event
Official Wrap
*subject to minor changes
👀 See you at Concave Summit 2025 👀
〰️
👀 See you at Concave Summit 2025 👀 〰️
About Concave Summit 2025 - An Interactive Forum at London Climate Action Week 2025
This London Climate Action Week, join climate innovators, funders, policymakers, designers, and ecosystem builders as we collaborate to reimagine and regenerate two interconnected systems: nature and cities.
Curated by Concave, a Climate & Impact Investing Summit committed to building a net-positive future, in collaboration with Okhtapus, who will lead strategic matchmaking across a diverse and powerful network of innovators, funders, enablers, and ecosystem allies.
This forum is designed to accelerate collaboration and scale breakthrough climate solutions at the intersection of nature, cities, and systems change.