WASHINGTON & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Village Capital and The Lightsmith Group announced today that applications have opened in Africa and Asia for the Adaptation SME Accelerator Project (ASAP), a program for SMEs and startups that are scaling market-based solutions to critical climate adaptation and resilience challenges.
“Accelerating the growth of selected climate adaptation solutions companies in developing countries is the final step in the ASAP strategy,” said Jay Koh, MD, Lightsmith Group. “By connecting SMEs identified through the Adaptation Solutions Taxonomy to resources of a world-class accelerator, we can demonstrate how these companies can scale up their solutions to the growing impacts of climate change.”
“SMEs and startups provide the local, contextualised solutions for climate adaptation and resilience in developing countries but struggle to obtain finance,” said Adedana Ashebir, Regional Director, Africa and Middle East, Village Capital. “Through ASAP, companies at the intersection of impact, inclusion, and investability stand a chance to bring their ideas from vision to scale.”
ASAP is a grant-funded initiative led by The Lightsmith Group, supported by the Global Environment Facility’s Special Climate Change Fund, Conservation International, and the Inter-American Development Bank that seeks to build an ecosystem for small- to medium-sized companies in emerging markets that have technologies, products, and services capable of building resilience to the impacts of climate change.
“Developing countries’ climate adaptation needs are immense and diverse, and the private sector plays an important role in filling the gap. In Asia and Africa, one of the biggest barriers to investment in climate resilience is the lack of financing available for small and medium-sized enterprises,” said Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, CEO and Chairperson of the GEF.
Each of the sixteen companies will have the opportunity to work closely with industry experts, investors, and ecosystem partners to develop the networks they need to scale their impact.
All startups in the program will be invited to join Abaca, Village Capital’s global online platform that helps entrepreneurs analyse, prepare their businesses for investment and match them with the right investors and resources.
Applications close on January 31, 2022. For all details click here.
