Ghana

Kenya

Malawi

Mozambique

Tanzania

Empowering Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Africa 2025 is Phase Two of an initiative to strengthen climate innovation across Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. 🌍🌱 This program builds upon Phase One, where Village Capital, in partnership with Norway through Norad, supported 14 Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs)/Ecosystem Builders with training and capacity building. 🤝 In this phase, Village Capital is collaborating with five of these locally-led Ecosystem Builders to co-deliver five tailored investment-readiness programs, supporting 150 sustainability-focused startups across the aforementioned markets in SSA.

✅Eligibility:
Startups must:
\* Be legally incorporated and operate as a for-profit entity in at least one of the following countries or have intentions to expand into them: Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, or Tanzania.
\* Have a market-based tech solution that tackles one of the following challenges:
\* Climate Adaptation 🌦
\* Renewable Energy ☀
\* Blue Economy 🌊
\* Food Security 🌾
\* Be in compliance with local fiscal and business law.
\* Have at least two full-time founders based in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, or Tanzania.
\* Have at least a minimum viable product (MVP) and raised less than USD 1M in equity.
\* Have meaningful customer or business validation (not limited to revenue, it can also be successful pilot studies, number of users, and/or strategic partnerships).
Benefits:
\* Advice: Participate in a virtual investor forum and mock board meetings with representatives from financial institutions, corporations, experienced entrepreneurs, and investors who can help startups scale their solutions.
\* Continued Learning: Access to live and asynchronous sessions tailored to a virtual learning environment to help their companies identify early milestones and prepare for their next round of capital (if relevant) or significant expansion.
\* Financial Analysis: Access to an investment analyst who will coach startups 1:1 on building a financial model, identifying unit economics, and using financial metrics to drive both business and investor diligence.
\* Media Exposure: Exposure to Village Capital’s program website and other communications collateral.
\* Mentorship: Ability to meet with and receive mentorship from prominent investors, potential strategic partners, customers, and other funders.
\* Networking: Access to a network of mentors and funders.

Timeline:
\* March 10, 2025: Applications open
\* April 30, 2025: Applications close
\* Mid-May, 2025: Cohort announcement (Pre-accelerator)
\* September, 2025: Cohort announcement (Investment-readiness program)
\* Virtual workshops (Pre-accelerator):
\* Cohort 1: May 19 - July 11, 2025
\* Cohort 2: June 20 - August 15, 2025
\* Virtual workshops (Investment-readiness program):
\* Cohort 1: September 1, 2025 - January 1, 2026
\* Cohort 2: February 1, 2026 - June 1, 2026
\* June, 2026: Program Summit

English

Virtual Learning Environments

Summary: 🌍🌱 Village Capital & local Ecosystem Builders are empowering climate-focused startups in Africa with investment-readiness programs.

Empowering Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Africa 2025 💪

By UNICEF Kenya