Hosted during one of the nation’s premier climate convenings, Startup Bazaar @ DC Climate Week brings together leading climate-tech founders, venture investors, infrastructure funds, policymakers, and corporate partners for a conversation and deal flow.
Moving beyond broad climate dialogue, it focuses on where investment opportunities are emerging — from grid modernization and energy storage to climate AI, industrial decarbonization, and carbon markets.
Carefully vetted startups will present to an audience of active investors, followed by structured Q&A and curated one-on-one meetings. The programming emphasizes disciplined capital allocation, commercialization pathways, and the practical realities of scaling climate solutions in a policy-driven market.
Montgomery County Green Bank
Rokas Beresniovas has over 20 years of experience in business to business, community, and retail environments where he manages teams, builds relationships, monitors market conditions, and expands client assets. He also has numerous appointments to non-profit boards for corporate stewardship and community relationship building.
Born in Lithuania, Rokas emigrated to the U.S. in 1998. He has worked predominantly in the financial services sector, where he served as a Vice President of Business Development and Commercial Banking for Bank of America, Eagle Bank, HSBC Bank USA, State Bank of India USA, and the National Institute of Health Federal Credit Union.
Rokas has also been a board member of various community organizations, including the Georgetown Business Association (GBA), Kids 4 Peace International, End Violence Against Women International and The Embassy Series.
Rokas was awarded the 2016 SmartCEO Washington DC Executive Management Award and was a finalist for the 2015 SmartCEO Washington DC Money Manager Award. He also won a Global Tassels Community Innovator Award (2015) and The Eurasia Center Golden BRICS Award (2014).
GreenBrilliance
Sumit founded GreenBrilliance in 2007, driven by a vision to provide end-to-end, “Made in USA” solar installation services that cover everything from design and engineering to permitting, installation, monitoring, and maintenance. Since then, GreenBrilliance has grown into a top 20 solar contractor nationally, earning a reputation as the most trusted solar provider in the mid-Atlantic region and being named the #1 solar contractor in Washington, D.C., in 2020. Under Sumit’s leadership, the company has served more than 4,000 customers, installed more than 53,000 kW of solar power, and set benchmarks like our Solar32Certified™ quality rating system.
Resilient Earth Capital
John Paul (JP) Moscarella is an international clean energy and climate finance executive, with over 35 years of experience. Most recently, as a partner of a boutique environmental finance advisory firm, Climate Finance Advisors, Benefit LLC (CFA) in 2022, he was instrumental in its sale to WSP (a global engineering and consultancy firm with HQ in Canada, listed on TSX with a market cap in excess of US$21 billion and 65K employees globally).
An entrepreneur, he has founded or co-founded six (6) companies, including Emerging Energy & Environment (EEE), a fund manager focused on Latin America, with circa US$65 MM in AUM, and Econergy International, an early mover in the carbon credits markets (clean energy projects globally) and renewables developer with 260 MW (190 MW net) of projects at the time of its sale in 2008 to GDF Suez (now Engie), one of the largest utilities in the world.
With proven leadership skills, he has been a leading executive and general manager of several clean energy companies, as well as a fund manager for private equity/venture capital funds; a board director for nearly 20 companies and organizations; and, a pioneer in the field of carbon credits and climate finance, since attending the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, as well as a pioneer in cleantech investments in Latin America (i.e., plug-in hybrid EVs, CNG, biofuels, methane recovery).
West Potomac Capital LLC
Hana Freymiller is the Chief Impact Officer at West Potomac Capital LLC (WPC) where she leads WPC’s impact measurement and managing systems. She spent 15 years leading the development and evaluation of economic development investments to reduce poverty through economic growth.
Prior to joining WPC, Hana spent 9 years with the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a US Government agency whose mission is to reduce poverty through economic growth. At MCC, she was the Project Director for Timor-Leste from 2018 to 2021. She led sector selection and project development for a $484 million economic development investment to build the first modern sanitation system and educate every teacher in Timor-Leste.
Hana led MCC’s public data Disclosure Review Board and created the operational strategy for cost-efficiency analysis of MCC’s $14 billion investment portfolio across 43 countries.
Hana received my MPA in Economics and Public Policy from Princeton University and did her undergraduate studies in Economics at Wellesley College where she played varsity tennis.
Responsible Alpha, Inc.
Musa is a recognized leader in environmental and community development finance, renewable energy, climate and water resources resilience, multi-family housing, and related industries. As a mission-oriented Executive, he leverages deep multi-disciplinary expertise across impact domains, philosophy, and spirituality for the betterment of people and the planet. Musa has extensive leadership, investment and capital formation, strategy, and operations experience with private, public and multinational organizations in the U.S. and globally. He has led both large-scale and entrepreneurial teams delivering seed-stage to $10B+ in capital formation and financial structuring, project development, and technology solutions addressing complex challenges across clean energy and tax equity, environmental sustainability, and MFH investments. His World Bank Group and Global Environment Facility experience includes leadership roles for a multi-billion-dollar portfolio of complex investments for water resilience, sustainable property development, climate related investment funds, renewable energy and biodiversity programs, and microfinance. Additionally, he has co-founded or led start-ups that developed into multi-million dollar organizations. Musa has completed the HBS Executive Management Program, and holds a JD/MBA, University of Maryland. He is also multilingual: English, Spanish, Portuguese, and others.
VU Capital
Rohit is a business strategist with a keen interest in geopolitics. Rohit’s professional work spans two decades of emerging technology development and innovation in telecom, the broader internet infrastructure space and a range of emerging enterprise technologies that span the functional gamut. He has advised emerging growth company leaders to achieve their strategic milestones. Rohit has also collaborated extensively with policymakers and civil society leaders across various policy areas. He enjoys exploring the nexus of business and policy through the prism of societal value and the leadership that nurtures it. Rohit derives his greatest professional fulfilment by working with thoughtful leaders on ideas with transformative power. Rohit is also an experienced public speaker, moderator and curator.
Rohit has an MBA and degrees in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maryland. He has also taught globalization as an adjunct faculty at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business.
EnDyna Inc.
Dr. Smita Siddhanti is the Founder and President of EnDyna Inc., specializing in management and environmental consulting for various federal agencies in Washington DC. Currently, she is focusing on developing governments’ Climate Change and Resilience policy and action plans.
She was the past president of the DC Chapter of TiE – The Indus Entrepreneurs, and currently serves on the Global Board of Trustees for TiE. She has served on the Virginia Governor’s Air Quality Board and on the Board of the University of Pittsburgh.
Dr. Siddhanti is a recipient of several awards including the 2014 Future 50 award of Smart CEO, and the White House Green Government award in 2016. As the TiE Global Board of Trustees, Smita is leading the TiE Women Initiative to assist and mentor women entrepreneurs across the globe in 30 countries. Smita is also leading the TiE Global Special Interest Group of social entrepreneurship and social impact investing.
She holds a B.S. and M.S.in Biology from Delhi University, an M.S. in Technology Policy from Rensselaer Polytechnic (RPI), and a Ph.D. in Technology and Public Policy from the University of Pittsburgh.
Sandrine Capital
Kesav Dama is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, and former wealth manager with investments spanning India, South America, and other international markets. His portfolio focuses on high-growth sectors including technology, real estate, and financial services.
We invite startups to register and pitch before investors from the Washington, DC, area and across the United States. Both early-stage and growth-stage startups are welcome, with dedicated pitching sessions for each category.
Get ready to hear from investors, successful startup founders, industry leaders, and innovation experts who have built and scaled groundbreaking ventures.
The event offers a vibrant platform where startup founders, aspiring entrepreneurs, and early-stage innovators can engage with industry leaders who have forged remarkable success in the entrepreneurial landscape. Join us to gain invaluable insights, network with seasoned professionals, and ignite your entrepreneurial journey.
Are you an entrepreneur with an innovative startup? Here’s your chance to showcase your venture at the Startup Showcase! If you want your startup to be featured, reach out to us with your details. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain visibility, connect with investors, and engage with industry leaders. Our email ID is events@americanbazaaronline.com
Name: Anil Prayag
Phone: 301-343-7610
Email: anil@americanbazaaronline.com