SMEs and startups help play a role in mitigating climate challenges given that they employ nearly 45% of the population and generate nearly 33% of GDP in developing countries. Despite the fact that SMEs and startups are key sources of innovation for adaptation, they struggle to secure financing and lack the operational capacity to scale climate resilience and adaptation solutions.
Village Capital, under the Adaptation SME Accelerator Project (ASAP), an initiative supported by the Lightsmith Group, in partnership with the Inter-American Development Bank, the Global Environment Facility, and Conservation International, will accelerate 16 SMEs and startups in Africa and Asia that are scaling market-based and contextualized solutions to critical climate adaptation and resilience challenges.
Eligibility Criteria
- You should be an SME or startup in a developing country in Africa or Asia developing or offering products and/or services (ideally technology-enabled) that increase the resilience of target users to the impacts of climate change by either -
- Addressing systemic barriers to adaptation by strengthening users’ ability to understand and respond to physical climate risks - either chronic or acute - and related impacts and/or capture related opportunities.
- Preventing or reducing physical climate risk - either chronic or acute - and/or any adverse associated impacts on assets, economic activities, people, or nature.
The climate resilience and adaptation solutions offered should also strive to be as minimally carbon intensive as possible. Examples include (but are not limited to):
- Agriculture
- Transportation, Logistics, Infrastructure
- Climate Risk Analytics and Risk Management
- Water
- Energy
- Health
Benefit of the program
Participating companies will benefit from the following:
- Personalized and curated one-on-one working sessions.
- Mentor and investor feedback sessions, based on identified needs faced by climate resilience-related enterprises.
- Pro-bono support from industry-leading mentors for each entrepreneur.
- At the end of the program, you will join the network of 1,100+ Village Capital alumni, who have historically been able to raise 3x more capital, earn 2.3x more revenue, and create 40% more jobs after program completion.
- ASAP program alumni will also have access to a range of resources, tools, and support post- program, such as Village Capital research (e.g., talent.vilcap.com/playbook) and alumni support events.
- ASAP program alumni, along with all applicants to this program, will have free access to the Abaca. platform, profiles, and investor-matching and milestone planning services in perpetuity.
- Possible opportunities to collaborate with companies across Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
Deadline - January 31, 2022
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