Village Capital Puts Out Call for Accelerator Program to Advance Climate Justice for Migrants and Communities of Color in the United States
This is a writing sample from Scripted writer Maddie McElhenny
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:
- Disaster Preparedness and Recovery (Climate tech, Insurtech, and Fintech) by measuring climate data and insights, forecasting climate needs, offering affordable insurance solutions, or providing tools and access to necessary financing.
- Public Action and Efficient Response (Civic Tech) by advocating for a more coordinated, efficient, equitable, and rapid response to natural disasters from communities and governments, and helping immigrants, refugees, and communities of color navigate the government and its processes.
- Resilient Housing and Cities (Proptech, Urbantech, and Fintech) through access to equitable housing and fair amenities as well as upgrading to more resilient housing, including financing and design.
- Welcoming and Supporting Immigrants and Refugees (Fintech, Healthtech, Edtech, and Refugeetech) through offering language support, upskilling or reskilling immigrants, facilitating the transfer of education credentials, or providing credit history data solutions.
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.
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