Village Capital, with support from the World Education Services (WES) Mariam Assefa Fund, today launched an accelerator program for startups creating inclusive solutions for immigrants, refugees, and communities of color disproportionately impacted by climate change in the United States.
Washington, DC (April 25, 2023) – Village Capital, with support from the World Education Services (WES) Mariam Assefa Fund, today launched an accelerator program for startups creating inclusive solutions for immigrants, refugees, and communities of color disproportionately impacted by climate change in the United States.
As a funder committed to advancing economic and social inclusion for immigrants, refugees, and communities of color, the WES Mariam Assefa Fund is proud to partner with Village Capital on this initiative. This accelerator program seeks to support and empower entrepreneurs and leaders that are building more inclusive solutions to climate resilience in their communities. As climate change continues to disproportionately impact migrants and communities of color, there is an urgent need to ensure these communities can prepare for and respond to the impacts of natural disasters.
Applications close on May 25, 2023. Full details and eligibility criteria can be found here.
The call for applications is open to startups in the United States building high-growth, scalable solutions to help immigrants, refugees, and communities of color mitigate and adapt to challenges related to climate change. In particular, we are looking for solutions to help communities and their leaders prepare for, respond to, and recover from climate-related and other natural disasters; such as hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, droughts, air pollution, heatwaves, extreme cold, and more. Village Capital is looking for 10-12 solutions focused on addressing:
From July through October 2023, the selected entrepreneurs will participate in three interactive virtual and in-person workshops to work on a milestone achievement plan and develop the necessary networks and tools to scale their impact. They will also receive one-on-one coaching and participate in mock board meetings with representatives from relevant institutions, corporates, and investors. A founder/C-suite member of each selected startup will travel with all expenses included to an in-person program summit in November 2023 to interact with one of the biggest ecosystems of the region, location to be confirmed later.
All startups that apply to the program will be invited to join Abaca, Village Capital’s online global network that helps entrepreneurs articulate their investment and/or expansion readiness. The 10-12 selected startups will receive an equity-free grant fund of around USD $20,000 for their participation and completion of the accelerator program. The exact grant amount will be determined by the final number of selected startups. The top two peer-selected startups will receive an additional investment of USD $100,000 each from the WES Mariam Assefa Fund to further scale their solutions.
For more information, reach out to Sofía Cándano at Village Capital (sofia.candano@vilcap.com).
About Village Capital
Village Capital is reinventing the system to back the entrepreneurs of the future. Known for its groundbreaking approaches to supporting founders who are building solutions to emergent social, economic, and environmental challenges, VilCap unlocks critical social and financial capital for early-stage companies to maximize business and impact growth.
Village Capital has operated in the US since 2009 by running over 45 accelerator programs. VilCap has supported more than 897 startups from over 43 states and 23 entrepreneur support organizations (ESO) working in sectors such as financial health, health equity, justice tech, and sustainability. Learn more at www.vilcap.com and follow @villagecapital.
About the WES Mariam Assefa Fund
World Education Services (WES) is a non-profit social enterprise dedicated to helping international students, immigrants, and refugees achieve their educational and career goals in the United States and Canada. Through its grantmaking, impact investing, and partnerships, the WES Mariam Assefa Fund seeks to advance economic and social inclusion for immigrants and refugees. The Fund supports greater opportunity, wealth, power, and justice for the individuals and communities it serves. Learn more at wes.org/fund.
