To advance prosperity and opportunity in the Western Hemisphere, the U.S. Department of State-sponsored ten alumni of the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative (YLAI) Fellowship Program to grow their business ventures across a variety of sectors. Participants in the YLAI Americas Accelerator were selected for this opportunity through a competitive process managed by implementing partner IREX and venture capital firm Village Capital, which offered the entrepreneurs targeted support and mentorship over the course of three workshops. As a culmination of the activities, Lazarillo was peer-selected to receive a cash award to invest in their business as a part of the Americas Accelerator
Washington, DC (May 13th, 2022) — Village Capital, with support and grant funding from leading cloud-based subscription management platform provider Zuora®, announced a new accelerator program focused on startups creating solutions to fight climate change and preserve the world through subscription models.
The accelerator, Sustainability Subscribed, will support 10 to 12 startups employing subscriptions or recurring revenue models to fight climate change and move the needle towards greater sustainability and net zero emissions.
Applications close on June 8th, 2022. Full details and eligibility criteria can be found here.
The call for applications is open to startups in the United States that are using innovative subscription models to expand access and lower financial barriers to sustainability solutions. Village Capital is looking for startups that:
Though several sectors of technology are relevant, the program will specifically focus on sectors that contribute substantially to climate change: Agriculture and Food, Energy, Transportation, Housing and Buildings, among others. In addition, diversifying the founder ecosystem in the US is a key pillar of the program. Therefore, founders from historically underrepresented backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply.
From July through November 2022, the selected entrepreneurs will meet for three online workshops and one in-person workshop. The curriculum is focused on helping the selected entrepreneurs develop the networks and tools they need to scale their impact, and connect them with investors, mentors and peers for one-on-one feedback and support.
The top two peer-selected startups will receive grant funding of USD $50,000 to support operations. All startups that apply to the program will also be invited to join Abaca, Village Capital’s free online global platform that helps entrepreneurs map out critical milestones on their path to scale. The network provides a diagnostic tool, and then matches entrepreneurs with relevant investors and resources.
For more information, reach out to Sofía Cándano at Village Capital (sofia.candano@vilcap.com).
About Village Capital
Village Capital helps entrepreneurs bring big ideas from vision to scale. Our mission is to reinvent the system to back the entrepreneurs of the future. Our vision is a future where business creates equity and long-term prosperity. Since 2009, we have supported more than 1,400 early-stage entrepreneurs through our investment readiness programs. Our affiliated fund, VilCap Investments, has invested in more than 110 program graduates.
About Zuora
Zuora provides the leading cloud-based subscription management platform that functions as a system of record for subscription businesses across all industries. Powering the Subscription Economy®, the Zuora platform was architected specifically for dynamic, recurring subscription business models and acts as an intelligent subscription management hub that automates and orchestrates the entire subscription order-to-revenue process across billing, collections and revenue recognition. Zuora serves more than 1,000 companies around the world, including Box, Ford, Penske Media Corporation, Schneider Electric, Siemens, Xplornet and Zoom. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Zuora also operates offices around the world in the U.S., EMEA and APAC.
