VC4A is pleased to join the International Finance Corporation (IFC) – She Wins Climate programme as an implementation partner alongside adelphi and EBAN. She Wins Climate is a transformative initiative designed to empower and scale women-led climate-tech startups tackling global climate challenges.
She Wins Climate will identify and support 25 women-led climate-focused startups across Eastern Europe, Turkey and Central Asia. Through comprehensive training, mentorship, and investment facilitation, the program aims to equip these startups to drive growth and deliver impactful, sustainable solutions.
What She Wins Climate will deliver
The programme is structured around five impactful modules tailored to equip startups with critical skills and resources to scale successfully:
- Investment Readiness Training (IRT):
- Navigating venture capital processes, funding types, and investor relations.
- Developing robust financial projections and data rooms.
- Pitching your startup:
- Crafting compelling narratives and creating investor-ready pitch decks.
- Building confidence in delivering pitches and handling Q&A sessions.
- Climate-tech and Female-founder training:
- Utilising toolkits to align solutions with climate finance and gender-specific market opportunities.
- Exploring global climate agenda alignment with expert guidance.
- Peer-learning meetups:
- Collaborating with sector peers to co-create solutions and scale innovative ideas.
- Deal facilitation:
- Showcasing high-potential startups through a curated Dealbook for global investors.
Selection Criteria
Who can apply?
Criteria for participants:
- You must be 21+ years in age
- You must identify as a woman
- You must be the founder, co-founder, owner, or executive of the startup
- You must be fluent in English
Criteria for startups:
- Your startup must be women-owned/women-led (see definition below).
- Your startup must be legally registered and in business for at least 1 year at the time of submission.
- Your startup must be early stage but past the ideation stage, targeting pre-seed, seed, and Series A funding. More mature businesses will also be considered unless at the growth or exit stage.
- Your startup must be have the majority of employees, assets, or operations in one of the following countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine or Uzbekistan.
- Your startup must focus explicitly on climate change solutions or technologies and climate change must be core to your startup’s mission, strategy, and operations. Solutions and technologies could address greenhouse gas emissions reductions, energy efficiency, adaptation and resilience, circular processes, sustainable products or services, pollution reduction or prevention, conservation, and/or nature-based solutions.Startups with only a minor focus on climate change are not eligible.
Definition of women-owned/women-led:
- ≥ 51% owned by a woman/women; OR
- ≥ 20% owned by a woman/women, with: ≥ 1 woman as CEO/COO (President/Vice-President);
- and ≥ 30% of the board of directors should be composed of women, where a board exists.
Stay tuned
This initiative is a bold step toward fostering inclusive climate innovation while spotlighting the vital contributions of women-led enterprises in addressing the world’s most pressing environmental challenges.
Details about the application process and deadlines will be shared soon. Stay connected with us for updates on how to participate and join this transformative programme.
Together, let’s empower women to lead the charge in building a sustainable future!
About the partners
adelphi: adelphi is Europe’s leading independent think-and-do tank for climate, environment and development. Visit the adelphi website at https://adelphi.de/en for more information.
EBAN: European Business Angels Network is the pan-European representative for the early stage investor community gathering over 100 member organizations in more than 50 countries today. Established in 1999 by a group of pioneer angel networks in Europe with the collaboration of the European Commission and EURADA, EBAN represents a sector estimated to invest 11.4 billion Euros a year and playing a vital role in Europe’s future, notably in the funding of SMEs. EBAN fuels Europe’s growth through the creation of wealth and jobs. Visit the EBAN website at https://www.eban.org/ for more information.
VC4A: VC4A is an ecosystem builder that leverages its infrastructure, network, and expertise for the programs that contribute to the startup movement in emerging markets. Since 2007, the organization has designed, structured, and implemented successful entrepreneurship programs in emerging markets. VC4A runs an online platform featuring a database of startups, connecting entrepreneurs to resources, networks, and funding. Visit the global website athttps://VC4A.com for more information.