The other recipient was US-headquartered Anew Climate, which recently set up an office in Singapore and has been running carbon projects for 20 years.
The EDB grant – which is an undisclosed total amount – aims to support companies in performing early-stage carbon project development and financing activities that could generate high-quality credits.
In 2025, the grant received a S$20 million injection from a fund by EDB and Temasek Trust’s philanthropy advisory arm. That year, the first set of three grant recipients was announced: climate solutions provider 3Degrees, project developer Climate Bridge International, and environmental non-profit The Nature Conservancy.
One carbon credit represents one tonne of planet-warming emissions that is either prevented from being released, or removed from the atmosphere. They can come from technological solutions, such as replacing firewood stoves with cleaner cook stoves, or nature-based ones like peatland conservation.
The grant recipients will conduct feasibility trials for carbon projects in the 11 countries that Singapore has existing carbon trading pacts with, as well as those in the early stages of such agreements. The 11 countries include the Philippines, Vietnam, and Rwanda.
Value Network Ventures co-founder Sandeep Roy Choudhury said the firm intends to use the grant money to beef up its Singapore team, which currently comprises two management-level staff.
“We need the new hires to build up skills in documentation, issuing credits, and managing projects. Singapore is a hub for carbon markets, but not so much project development yet,” he added.
The firm will also explore projects in agroforestry and blue carbon, among other nature-based solutions.
Blue carbon ecosystems, such as mangroves, seagrasses, peatlands, and coastal wetlands, can store carbon up to four times more efficiently than forests on land.
The grant recipients were announced on 22 May during the finale of a blue carbon innovation challenge to unlock global technological solutions to better protect and restore marine and coastal habitats.
The Blue Catalyst challenge – organised by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Singapore and aquaculture investment firm Hatch Blue – drew over 130 applications from startups and technology providers from 37 countries.
Ten finalists were selected to participate in a two-week accelerator programme hosted in Singapore, where they learnt from practitioners across conservation, finance, and technology, to find out the realities of on-field project development in Southeast Asia.
