APPLY for the Village Capital Adaptation SME Accelerator Project (ASAP) for SMEs and startups in Africa

Application Deadline: January 31, 2022 

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 Requirements

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 – 

1. 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.
2. 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 

Benefits

Participating companies will benefit from the following: 

1. Personalized and curated one-on-one working sessions.
2. Mentor and investor feedback sessions, based on identified needs faced by climate resilience-related enterprises. 
3. Pro-bono support from industry-leading mentors for each entrepreneur.
4. 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. 
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Possible opportunities to collaborate with companies across Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

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:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Village Capital Adaptation SME Accelerator Project (ASAP)