Village Capital Accelerator Program 2023 to Advance Climate Justice for Migrants & Communities of Color in the U.S.

The Village Capital Accelerator Program 2023 to Advance Climate Justice for Migrants & Communities of Color in the U.S. is now accepting applications. An investment readiness program called Climate Justice for Migrants & Communities of Color will assist businesses developing inclusive solutions for immigrants, refugees, and communities of color who are disproportionately affected by climate change in the US.

This accelerator equips business owners to assist communities and their leaders in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from a wide range of natural disasters, including but not limited to heat waves, extreme cold, flooding, droughts, hurricanes, and air pollution. It does this in partnership with the World Education Services (WES) Mariam Assefa Fund.

Village Capital is looking for 10-12 startups focused on addressing:

• Disaster Preparedness and Recovery (Climate tech, Insurtech & Fintech) by measuring climate data and insights, forecasting climate needs, offering affordable insurance solutions, or providing tools and access to necessary financing.
• Public Action and Efficient Response (Civic tech) by advocating for a more coordinated, efficient, equitable, and rapid response to natural disasters from communities and governments, and helping immigrants, refugees, and communities of color navigate the government and its processes.
• Resilient Housing and Cities (Proptech, Urbantech, Fintech) through access to equitable housing and fair amenities as well as upgrading to more resilient housing, including financing and design.
• Welcoming and Supporting Immigrants and Refugees (Fintech, Healthtech, Edtech, RefugeeTech) through offering language support, upskilling or reskilling immigrants, facilitating the transfer of education credentials, or providing credit history data solutions.

Benefits:

• Access to Abaca: Scale your business faster by identifying the right capital for you and planning your next milestones for growth.
• Catalytic Capital: Upon completion of the program, each startup will receive an equal portion of a total funding amount of USD $200,000 as a non-dilutive, equity-free grant. The exact grant amount will be determined by the final number of selected startups in the cohort. The top two peer-selected startups will receive an additional investment of USD $100,000 each from WES Mariam Assefa Fund to further scale their solutions.
• Advice: 1:1 coaching with an investment analyst focused on building a financial model, unit economics, and using financial metrics to drive both their business and investor diligence.
• Connections: Build deep connections with other founders in your cohort and our larger Village Capital investor and alumni network.
• Training: Receive a tailored curriculum to help your company identify early milestones and prepare for your next round of capital. Develop new skills in a total of four interactive workshops, both virtual and an in-person summit. Participate in mock board meetings with representatives from relevant institutions, corporates, and investors.
• Mentorship: Build 1:1 connections with investors, strategic partners, founders, business leaders, and potential customers.

Eligibility:

They are looking for startups that have:

• A legal incorporation as a for-profit entity
• Headquarters or operations in the United States
• Market-based solution that tackles the challenges above
• A minimum viable product (MVP), and raised less than $1.5M in equity
• At least one full-time founder based in the US
• Meaningful customer or business validation (including but not limited to revenue, successful pilots, number of users, and/or strategic partnerships).

Click here to apply