ViewPoint: public markets can support climate finance in India where VCs can’t

Simmi Sareen and Shravan Shankar co-founders of Climake have released the 5th edition of their annual report on the state of climate finance in India.Coming up, in the next episode of India Tech Report: In Conversation, Simmi Sareen and Shravan Shankar at Climake discuss their State of Climate Finance in India 2025 report.Catch the full conversation tomorrow right here, or wherever you get your podcasts.Meanwhile, here’s a 90-second view point on how there are sectors and companies that aren’t necessarily suited for VC funding, but still can do very well and sometimes via the public markets route.While VCs optimise for venture returns, public markets accommodate businesses with steady but modest growth profiles.Neither model is superior; rather, their coexistence creates a broader funding ecosystem.Listen to the episodeIndia’s public markets are funding climate businesses that venture capital investors won’t find attractive. VCs have historically avoided sectors like wastewater treatment, solar pumps, and heat exchangers — industries they deem to lack sufficient competitive moats. Yet these same businesses are thriving on public exchanges.Of 39 climate IPOs they tracked recently, 18 were valued below $10 million, suggesting companies aren’t listing for traditional exit valuations but rather to access capital unavailable through VC channels.This matters because sectors excluded from venture portfolios are often critical to India’s decarbonisation pathway. Wastewater treatment and agricultural technology address real climate adaptation needs, but conventional VC return thresholds misalign with their economics.For climate entrepreneurs, the implication is clear: IPO routes may not necessarily be about scale, but they provide access. India’s climate finance challenge requires utilising all available capital channels, and public markets are filling a void that private capital has held back from.