Applications are now being accepted for the Innovation for Ecosystem Restoration Africa 2023 accelerator program, which is sponsored by Moody’s Corporation. This program supports business owners who work to restore ecosystems by tackling issues like deforestation, land degradation, water scarcity, biodiversity loss, and unfavorable climate change, which have become some of the region’s most urgent problems.
With the assistance of Moody’s Foundation, Village Capital will assist 10–12 impact-driven entrepreneurs in Africa that are developing locally viable ecosystem restoration solutions.
Entrepreneurship is a critical tool for solving the world’s biggest problems. But right now, a handful of people in a handful of cities are deciding which entrepreneurs get a chance to succeed. Venture capital funding flows to a homogenous group of founders, with a bias toward men and major tech hubs.
In addition to the on-the-ground work with entrepreneurs, Village Capital works on a system level to make impact investing more inclusive and to drive capital to a broader set of entrepreneurs.
Benefits:
- Access to live and asynchronous sessions tailored to a virtual learning environment to help companies identify early milestones and prepare for the next round of capital (if relevant) or big expansion.
- The opportunity of connecting with a diverse and inclusive network of mentors, founders, and investors.
- The opportunity of meeting with and receiving mentorship from prominent investors, potential strategic partners and customers, and other founders.
- The opportunity of participating in a virtual investor forum and mock board meetings with representatives from financial institutions, corporates, experienced entrepreneurs, and investors that can help their company scale.
- Access to an investment analyst who will coach you one on one on building a financial model, identifying unit economics, and using financial metrics to drive both the business and investor diligence.
- The opportunity of get featured on Village Capital’s program website and other collateral.
Eligibility:
- Must be a for-profit entity and have legal incorporation and operations in at least one sub-Saharan African country.
- Must have a market-based solution that tackles ecosystem restoration challenges in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Must have at least a minimum viable product (MVP), some traction under their belt, and raised less than $1M in equity.
- Must have meaningful customer or business validation (not limited to revenue, it can also be successful pilot studies, number of users, and/or strategic partnerships).
- Must have at least one full-time founder based in sub-Saharan Africa.
Application:
- Applicants will have to conduct an Abaca self-assessment of the company’s maturity online. (The assessment is available at the apply link.)
- Applicants will have to answer a series of questions about the business through online. (The test is available at the apply link.)
