Getting Ready for The Drop
The sessions I won’t skip, and the conversations that make this conference different.
Hey, Cristina here 👋
Welcome back to my corner of the internet, where I try to make venture capital feel less intimidating and a lot more interesting.
This week I want to write about The Drop. On September 16th I’ll be in Malmö for it and with more than 30 sessions on the agenda, I’ve been asking myself: what are the conversations I really don’t want to miss?
So I’m using this post to think out loud and share my shortlist.
What is the Drop?
The Drop is a climate tech conference in Malmö, Sweden, created in 2022 in partnership with Domino studio and Pale Blue Dot. It was designed to connect the world’s top investors with high-potential startups, and in just a few years it has grown into Europe’s leading climate conference.
The format is what makes it stand out, instead of big keynotes and presentations, it’s built around small roundtables called Ripples. Each one brings 15–20 people together for 45 minutes to dig into a single topic. The Ripples are grouped under larger themes like AI and climate, Investing &Impact, Geopolitics and Policy, or the Global South.
What makes it work is the curation, you have to apply to join, and everyone there is building, funding, or deeply working on climate solutions. That means conversations can skip the surface and go straight into the messy details that matter.
The main event is on the 17th, but the city warms up the day before with side events that everything from sauna meetups to breathing sessions.
📅 You can check the side event calendar here: https://luma.com/drop2025sideevents
📅You can check the main calendar here: https://luma.com/drop2025ripples?k=c
With so much happening, here are the themes I won’t be skipping.
From Hype to Adoption
The sessions on the Built Environment & Materials, and Adaptation & Risk themes are at the top of my list. We’ve spent years hearing about revolutionary materials and breakthrough technologies, but I want to know which ones are actually making it from the lab to the market.
The critical minerals conversation feels urgent because everyone talks about the energy transition, but few realize it requires building entirely new supply chains. I’m curious about the companies figuring out how to scale this without simply shifting environmental problems from one place to another.
The same goes for buildings. They account for nearly 40 percent of global emissions, yet most “solutions” I see are still stuck in concept form. I want to hear from the people actually retrofitting, testing, and proving that it can be profitable.
And then there’s adaptation and risk theme. Mitigation isn’t enough, I want to listen in on how investors, policymakers, and founders are thinking about resilience, not just reducing future emissions, but protecting communities and assets today.
Global South
There's a whole track on the Global South that I'm particularly excited about. VC conversations tend to stay pretty Euro and US-centric, but honestly, that's where we're missing the biggest opportunities.
The Global South isn't just where climate impacts hit hardest, it's also where you see the most creative leapfrogging. Think mobile payments in Kenya or off-grid solar in Bangladesh. These markets force entrepreneurs to build differently because traditional infrastructure either doesn't exist or doesn't work.
I’m hoping to learn and connect with investors who understand these contexts and see the potential.
Biodiversity, Nature and Systems
The sessions on the the Biodiversity and Nature theme are a must because they connect directly to the work and writing I’ve been doing. These solutions only work when entire systems move together: policy frameworks, corporate buy-in, startup innovation, and patient capital all aligned.
Often, climate conversations focus on a single technology in isolation, but real change happens when you can connect the dots between what a startup is building, what a corporate needs, and what regulators will actually approve.
This is where my NatureTech lens comes in. Nature-based solutions aren’t just about planting trees or protecting forests. They’re about rethinking land use, agriculture, and how we create value in the economy.
The Human Side of Venture
Another part of the program that stood out is the breathing and sauna sessions. I don’t know many other conferences that make space for this, and I think it’s great. Taking time to slow down, it’s what makes us better investors, founders, and partners and it’s also what keeps the work sustainable.
And it matters, because the mental side of this work is real. Climate investing attracts people who are genuinely trying to solve big problems, but that intensity creates its own pressures.
Say Hello?
These are the sessions I'll be leaning into, and probably writing about afterwards so if you're going too, come say hi.
If you're following from afar, I'll share the lessons that stick because the best conferences aren't really about what happens in the sessions anyway. They're about the conversations that happen in between, when people are honest about what's actually working and what's not.
See you soon, Malmö.
About the author
Thanks for reading to the end! I’m Cristina — a feminist, community builder, problem solver, and people connector focused on driving investments and innovation where gender and climate meet.
If you’re interested in Nature Tech, Gender, Climate, or the intersection of these areas, let’s connect on LinkedIn.
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