Following a successful first year supporting 56 entrepreneurs, Village Capital and Sage Foundation are launching the second year of Sage Impact Entrepreneurship – a global initiative empowering early-stage founders who are creating social, environmental, and economic impact in their communities.
Washington, DC (November 4, 2025) – Following a successful first year supporting 56 entrepreneurs, Village Capital and Sage Foundation are launching the second year of Sage Impact Entrepreneurship – a global initiative empowering early-stage founders who are creating social, environmental, and economic impact in their communities.
As the world faces unprecedented climate challenges – with global temperatures nearing critical thresholds and communities at increasing risk – this program will support founders proximate to the communities they serve, which is critical as they are uniquely positioned to create solutions that address environmental and social impacts in areas where economic disparities often intersect with environmental issues.
In its first year, the Sage Impact Entrepreneurship program supported 56 founders across regions, offering access to over 120 hours of investment readiness training, USD 150K in peer-selected grants, an additional USD 250K in milestone-based grants, more than 200 mentor engagements, and valuable connections.
Building on this first year’s insights, the next phase will deepen regional support, strengthen post-program engagement, and expand access to aligned capital for entrepreneurs across Europe, the UK, and the US.
“So far, the most useful accelerator we have been part of. The connections we made propelled us forward on our commercial and fundraising goals,” said Gabriele Barteskaite, COO and Co-Founder of Future Greens.
“The opportunity to have every assumption challenged, every fuzzy area of the business brought into focus, and every vulnerability examined. All in a safe, positive, and encouraging space surrounded by peers, filled us with confidence and further stoked our ambitions,” said Ryan Atkins, Co-Founder and CEO of Supercycle and peer-selected alum. “It was a humbling, inspiring, and bonding experience I’d recommend to any early-stage founder.”
For the 2026 cohorts, we are seeking 55 startups across Europe (France, Germany, Portugal, Spain), the UK, and the US, building solutions that create a positive impact on the social, economic, and environmental effects of climate change in the following verticals:
Sage Impact Entrepreneurship will support 25 entrepreneurs through its Annual Core Cohort through tailored mentoring, Sage’s product support, grants, and strategic training. An additional 30 startups will join the Annual Community Cohort and have access to various resources, including a curated digital platform, asynchronous tools, and visibility through Village Capital’s website and social channels. All participating startups will receive two years of post-program support to strengthen their impact and scale their solutions. Applicants will be evaluated based on their maturity and eligibility requirements, determining their placement in either the Core or Community Cohort.
The selected Core Cohort startups will participate in four online workshops from March to June 2026, as well as one in-person event. The curriculum is designed to help them develop the networks and tools they need to scale their impact and uplift their communities. They will work closely with advisors, partners, and other founders across the climate and sustainability space. They will also work with an investment analyst who will coach them 1:1 on building a financial model, identifying unit economics, and using financial metrics to drive their business and investor diligence.
All startups from the Core Cohort will receive USD 10K in grant capital for operational support. At the end of the program, two peer-selected startups from the Core Cohort of each region will receive additional grant capital of USD 50K for the top-ranked startup and USD 25K for the second-highest-ranked startup.
All startups that apply to the program will be invited to join Abaca, Village Capital’s free web app. Abaca includes Capital Explorer, which equips entrepreneurs to make strategic fundraising decisions that align with their mission and vision and identify relevant resources and capital providers. Abaca also helps entrepreneurs on a venture path to assess their investment readiness using a consistent set of Venture Investment Levels (1-9) and then plan and track progress toward their next level with the Milestone Planner.
Applications are open until January 5, 2026. Full details and eligibility criteria can be found here for Europe and the UK and here for the US.
For more information, reach out to Yireth Villaverde at Village Capital (yireth.villaverde@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 startups to maximize business and impact growth.
Since 2009, Village Capital has supported close to 1,800 startups that have raised over USD 7.7B in investment capital. It has made 116 investments through its various affiliated funds, including Vilcap Investments, which has invested in 91 peer-selected companies. Additionally, more than 25,500 users actively engage on Abaca, their web app that equips entrepreneurs, ESOs, and capital providers with tools for learning about, assessing suitability and expanding access to financial capital. Its latest feature, Capital Explorer, helps founders identify the most appropriate funding options for their businesses. Learn more at www.vilcap.com and follow @villagecapital.
About Sage Foundation
Sage Foundation has been knocking down barriers in our communities since 2015. By mobilising our colleagues, partners, and customers through impactful programmes, Sage Foundation is helping underrepresented entrepreneurs to grow their businesses while equipping the entrepreneurs of tomorrow with the skills they need to succeed.
About Sage
Sage exists to knock down barriers so everyone can thrive, starting with the millions of small- and mid-sized businesses served by us, our partners, and accountants. Customers trust our finance, HR, and payroll software to make work and money flow. By digitising business processes and relationships with customers, suppliers, employees, banks and governments, our digital network connects SMBs, removing friction and delivering insights. Knocking down barriers also means we use our time, technology, and experience to tackle digital inequality, economic inequality, and the climate crisis.
