Our Vetting & Selection Process

All applicants will submit an application via the TerraMatch platform. There will be two application stages: 1) Expression of interest (EOI) and 2) Full application/Request for Proposal (RfP). The review and selection team include experts from the World Resources Institute, WRI India, India Climate Collaborative, Sangam, Transform Rural India Foundation and Pune Knowledge Cluster. Every application will be seen by at least two reviewers, and each applicant will receive personalized feedback.

Every piece of information you submit will be reviewed and taken into consideration. We will only accept information that is submitted via TerraMatch. If you have additional documents that you would like us to consider, there will be an option to upload supporting documents as part of the application in TerraMatch. We will not consider any application materials submitted via email or another platform.

Selection Criteria

A selection committee comprising the consortium partners and external advisors will review applications at the EOI and full application stages. After interviews and due diligence are complete, grant finance will be awarded to non-profit organizations and debt finance (loans) to for-profit enterprises.

We assess applications from NGOs and for-profit enterprises according to the following criteria. By considering these, the selection committee will determine if the environment, local communities, and the organisation/entrepreneur, would all benefit from participation in the Harit Bharat Fund.

1. Organizational Management

Are the organization and relevant project well run? This includes an analysis of historic land restoration work, financial health (profitability for for-profits), vision and mission, competence and composition of the team (ensuring diversity of founders/team, equity and inclusion).

2. Environmental and Ecological Impact

How will the project improve the flow of ecosystem services, like soil quality, water availability, carbon storage, and biodiversity? How does it ensure sustainability of interventions like survival rates of saplings?

3. Social Impact

How will the project improve the livelihoods of local communities, especially women and marginalized groups like Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and other minorities? Does the project adequately account for considerations around equity and inclusion?

4. Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification Capacity

How could the project comply with monitoring, reporting and verification requirements to track the impact of the project? Will the project improve the flow of ecosystem services, like soil quality, water availability, carbon storage, and biodiversity?

5. Project Design

• Sustainability: Can the project ensure its impact beyond the funding period?
• Scalability: Can it expand with more funding and reach economies of scale? What is its growth potential?
• Replicability: Can its model/approach apply to other landscapes and states in India?
• Profitability (for-profits only): Is the business model viable? Is it unique? Is there a pipeline of paying customers?
  • Harit Bharat Fund encourages applications from enterprises with a minimum viable and innovative product/workable prototypes/business models/solutions and services post validation stage with paying customers/post revenue, to apply. 
    
    

3 Distinguishing Criteria for For-Profit Enterprises

Once companies are deemed to have fit the above five selection criteria, these three following distinguishing criteria are considered by the selection committee at the full application stag. They represent a more concrete analysis of where the enterprise is at this moment. 

• Uniqueness and Innovation of the intervention/prototype/product/service/business model and its socio-environmental impact: Is there anything unique about their offering? In depth understanding of how it’s impacting society and the environment.
• Traction: What has the company already achieved? Indicators may include revenue generated, number of customers reached, hectares restored, number of smallholder farmers engaged, and other indicators as identified by the enterprise and analysed by the selection committee.
• Special Criteria: To source diversity of founders/team, equity and inclusion, the selection committee is recognizing these additional criteria, as per eligibility:
  • Women-run enterprises (including marginalised sections)
  • Farmer Producer Companies (including marginalised sections)
  • Companies from the 3 identified states: Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra (including marginalised sections)