Washington, DC (March 24, 2024) – Village Capital, in partnership with Dream.Org and with the support of Salesforce, is launching a call for applications for the second iteration of the “Dream Climate Tech Launchpad: Black & Latinx-Led Climate Tech Solutions” accelerator. This US milestone-based and investment-readiness program is for Black and Latinx climate tech founders building solutions at the intersection of environmental justice to ensure a green transition for all.
The accelerator will take place from June to October 2024. Applications close on April 30. Full details and eligibility criteria can be found here.
In recent years, despite significant climate tech innovation in the US, technologies like solar, energy-efficient retrofits, and electric vehicles often remain inaccessible to low-income and communities of color. These communities face environmental injustices leading to generational inequities. An equitable transition to a green economy, supported by recent federal investments, can address these issues, creating clean jobs, improving public health, and reducing energy costs. However, VC funding for Black and Latinx founders in climate tech is falling, emphasizing the need to seize opportunities to promote environmental justice and equity.
Village Capital and Dream.Org aim to support 8 to 10 startups addressing the following issues in the US:
From June to October 2024, the selected entrepreneurs will participate in an intensive one-week virtual investment-readiness training workshop, followed by four monthly virtual check-in meetings and one in-person Program Summit. In October, a founder/C-suite member of each selected startup will travel with all expenses included to an in-person Program Summit to interact with one of the country's biggest ecosystems.
During the workshops, startups will receive support on fundraising, business development, and opportunities to build connections with the cohort and mentors. Village Capital and Dream.Org will also work closely with cohort companies to create individual milestone-based development plans, which will guide the progress and growth of each company throughout the program. The curriculum is focused on helping them develop the networks and tools they need to scale their impact.
Upon completion of the program, each startup will receive USD 5K as a non-dilutive, equity-free grant from Dream.Org. Two companies from the cohort will be selected by their peers to receive additional investment capital of USD 25K each from Dream.Org to further scale their solutions.
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.
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 companies to maximize business and impact growth.
Village Capital has operated in the US since 2009 by running close to 50 accelerator programs. VilCap has supported more than 570 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 Dream.Org
At Dream.Org, we bring people together across racial, social, and partisan lines. Through our Justice, Tech, and Green For All programs we are working towards an America with fewer people behind bars, less pollution, and greater opportunities for underserved communities.
Learn more at Dream.Org.