Press Releases

Village Capital Expands Partnership With Zuora to Accelerate Europe-Based Climate Startups Leveraging Dynamic Pricing Models

Written by Village Capital | Nov 8, 2024 5:00:00 PM

London, UK (November 8, 2024) Village Capital and Zuora, are expanding a three-year partnership with the launch of Sustainability Subscribed Europe, an accelerator program designed to scale climate-focused startups leveraging usage-based and dynamic pricing models to increase access to sustainable services and solutions. This initiative will support ten Europe-based startups using innovative pricing models to lower barriers to solutions addressing critical climate challenges around the European Energy Transition, Smart Mobility & Sustainable Transport, Regenerative Agriculture, Circular Economy, Resource Efficiency, Data-Driven Sustainability, Community Empowerment,  Carbon Removal, and Negative Emissions Technologies.

Europe is experiencing climate change at twice the global average, resulting in severe weather events like heat waves and wildfires. These challenges have led to over 100,000 heat-related deaths in the past two years, disproportionately impacting vulnerable groups such as low-income populations and the elderly. Urgent climate solutions are essential, and entrepreneurs with firsthand experience of these impacts are uniquely positioned to create scalable solutions that help communities adapt and mitigate these challenges. By empowering climate innovators and fostering robust ecosystems, we can advance toward a just transition to a net-zero future.


As we recruit entrepreneurs for this program, we will focus on startups that currently or plan to utilize recurring revenue business models – such as usage-based approaches – to combat climate change and promote sustainability. We are particularly interested in startups led by founders from diverse backgrounds and with lived experience in the problems they are solving, especially those benefiting underserved communities and regions most vulnerable to climate impacts.


The Sustainability Subscribed Europe accelerator will provide investment-readiness training to help impact-creating entrepreneurs refine their solutions and expand their access to financial and social capital. Participants will work closely with industry experts, investors, and ecosystem partners while receiving one-on-one coaching from an investment analyst on financial modeling, unit economics, and metrics that drive business growth and investor engagement. Additionally, they will join Village Capital’s extensive network of over 250 sustainability-focused mentors and investors.


Applications are open until December 9, 2024. Full details and eligibility criteria can be found here.


From January to April 2025, selected startups will participate in four online workshops designed to equip them with the tools and connections necessary for scaling their impact. The program will culminate in an in-person summit in April 2025, where ten startups will participate in the Sustainability Subscribed Europe demo day, followed by curated investor and expert-led mentor sessions. 


Sustainability Subscribed Europe does not take equity; all selected startups will receive a participatory stipend, and the top two peer-selected startups will each be awarded a USD 25K non-dilutive grant to further scale their solutions and drive positive environmental change.


For more information or media inquiries, please contact Eva Waweru at Village Capital (eva.waweru@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 Europe since 2016, running over 12 accelerator programs for European entrepreneurs from more than 25 countries in the region. VilCap has supported more than 160 startups from all over Europe, working in sectors such as climate change, data privacy, financial health, and refugee-tech. Learn more at www.vilcap.com and follow @villagecapital.