Applications Invited for Adaptation SME Accelerator Project (ASAP): Africa and Asia

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About the Organization

Village Capital leverages entrepreneurship to drive impact at scale.

We are the largest organization in the world supporting impact-driven, seed-stage startups. Since 2009 our team has directly worked with more than 1,100 entrepreneurs in 28 countries, and our affiliated fund, VilCap Investments, has invested in 110 startups that have gone on to raise more than $4 billion in follow-on capital.

About the Grant

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.

SMEs and startups will participate in a one-week intensive virtual training program that will support companies at the intersection of impact (that is measurable, contextualized, with clear solutions to identified problems), inclusion (entrepreneurs that have deep experience with the problems they seek to address), and investability (sustainable, scalable startups that can drive positive financial and social return).

Eligibility

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.

Program Timeline

• Applications Open: December 7, 2021
• Applications Close: January 31, 2022
• Cohort Announcement: March 25, 2022
• Orientation Webinar: April 1, 2022
• Preparation for Accelerator Program: April 2-16, 2022
• Accelerator Program: April 18-22, 2022

Please note that the deadline to apply for the companies is January 31, 2022 at 11:59 PM EST. We will not be able to grant any further extensions beyond this. Opportunities for Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) companies coming soon!

For more information please check the Link 

Tags Environment and Sustainability Others