#The lightsmith collection full

The Lightsmith Group is an investment firm pursuing superior returns by investing in companies that address critical societal needs. Our affiliated fund, VilCap Investments, has invested in more than 110 program graduates. Since 2009, we have supported more than 1,000 early-stage entrepreneurs through our investment readiness programs. Our vision is a future where business creates equity and long-term prosperity. Our mission is to reinvent the system to back the entrepreneurs of the future. Village Capital helps entrepreneurs bring big ideas from vision to scale.

#The lightsmith collection full

Full details and eligibility criteria can be found at this link.įor more information, reach out to Rustin Finkler at Village Capital ( or Brian Parham at Lightsmith ( Village Capital The network also matches them with the right investors and resources.Īpplications close on January 31, 2022. “The dedicated climate resilience accelerator under ASAP, a project supported by the Special Climate Change Fund, will help connect small businesses with investors and financing sources that can help them develop and grow innovative and impactful climate resilience products and services.”Įach of the sixteen companies selected for the accelerator will have the opportunity to work closely with industry experts, investors, and ecosystem partners to develop the networks they need to scale their impact.Īll startups in the program will be invited to join Abaca, Village Capital’s global online platform that helps entrepreneurs analyze and prepare their businesses for investment. 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 and their locally developed adaptation solutions,” said Carlos Manuel Rodriguez, CEO and Chairperson of the GEF. “Developing countries’ climate adaptation needs are immense and diverse, and the private sector has an important role to play in filling the gap. Through ASAP, companies at the intersection of impact, inclusion, and investability will have a chance to bring their ideas from vision to scale.”ĪSAP is a grant-funded initiative led by The Lightsmith Group and 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 that can be used to build resilience to the impacts of climate change. “SMEs and startups provide the local, contextualized solutions for climate adaptation and resilience in developing countries,” said Adedana Ashebir, Regional Director, Africa and Middle East at Village Capital, “Despite this fact, many struggle to secure financing and lack the operational capacity to scale their solutions. “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, especially in the places that are most vulnerable.” “Accelerating the growth of selected climate adaptation solutions companies in developing countries is the key final step in the ASAP strategy,” said Jay Koh, Managing Director of the Lightsmith Group. 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 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups that are scaling market-based and contextualized solutions to critical climate adaptation and resilience challenges.