Deadline: 31st August, 2025
Supported by Visa Foundation, the UN Women Care and Climate Entrepreneurship Accelerator will support women-owned and women-benefitting enterprises operating in the care economy, the green economy, and their intersection, in the Asia-Pacific region. The accelerator will provide tailored support to the selected enterprises across six areas: strategy, operations, inclusive business models, financial readiness, networking and gender responsiveness.
Please note that selected participants must commit to the following:- Commitment to spend at least 2 hours per week during the 6 month high touch support phase of the accelerator starting in September and 1 hour per week in the subsequent phase.
- The selected enterprises will need to sign the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) and make an in-principle commitment to mainstream gender in their businesses.
Benefits
- STRATEGY: Targeted support to refine business model, increase revenue, expand customer base, and develop go-to market strategies for new segments or geographies
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OPERATIONS: Tailored support to refine business offering, optimize costs, and improve business processes
- INCLUSIVE BUSINESS MODELS:
Bespoke support towards gender-responsive and inclusive business development to enable improved access to markets and capital - FINANCIAL READINESS: Support to identify capital needs, relevant types & sources of capital & pot-ential investors/ lenders, develop collaterals (pitch deck, financial model, etc.), set fundraising milestones, understand term sheets, & pitch to a curated group of regional & global investors
- NETWORKING: Access to care and climate industry leaders, funders, potential partners and networks such as the ‘Network of Inclusive Care Entrepreneurs (NICE)’ among others. Enterprises will be offered an opportunity to participate in two in-person learning/networking events
- GENDER RESPONSIVENESS:
Opportunity to understand how gender impacts various aspects of the business, from the workforce and supply chain to products and services, and take steps to mitigate potential inequalities
Eligibility
- An enterprise that is woman-owned/led or has a gender-diverse founding team.
- A for-profit registered entity with operations in South Asia or Southeast Asia
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Operational for at least two years with established product market fit & revenue generating.
The Enterprise Must Be At Early / Growth Stage Of Operations:
Early Stage
- Piloted product / service offering with revenue traction
- Enterprise has early users / adopters
- Enterprise has small teams, and is often founder-led
- Enterprise is focused on refining business model and exploring the best go-to-market strategy
- Enterprise should have been operational for at least two years as of 30th March 2025
Growth Stage
- Enterprise should have established product-market fit and consistent revenue growth
- Enterprise is expanding and/or diversifying its customer base
- Enterprise has an expanded leadership team with specialized roles
- Enterprise is focused on scaling operations and expanding geographic reach
- Enterprise should have been operational for at least three years as of 30th March 2025
For more information and application.