TechnoServe Joins Forces with the IKEA Foundation and the Visa Foundation to Launch Green Accelerator Program for Scale-Bound Businesses

MUMBAI, India, June 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On the occasion of World Environment Day, TechnoServe launches the first cohort of the Greenr Sustainability Accelerator supported by the IKEA Foundation and the Visa Foundation. Over the next 3 years, Greenr Accelerator, a TechnoServe initiative, will nurture 400 high growth businesses across 5 cohorts to make sizable strides in the Environment Action space.

The Greenr Sustainability Accelerator is a one-of-a-kind sustainability focused accelerator designed and run by TechnoServe India. It is a year-long, equity-free accelerator that provides tailored business advice to high-growth businesses with products and services that have a positive impact on the environment.

The Accelerator's mission is to develop a thriving green business ecosystem that helps mitigate environmental degradation, and uplifts communities, by linking them to knowledge, capital and markets. The program will do so by scaling consumption of the sustainable products/services offered by promising environment action businesses. With a focus on solutions in sectors such as waste management, textiles, forestry, climate-tech, renewable energy and more, across India. Greenr Accelerator is also creating opportunities to empower and advance women leaders and founders in business.

Commenting on the launch of the program, Punit Gupta, Country Director, TechnoServe India said, "The challenges faced by green businesses in India are quite unique unlike other traditional MSMEs. With our Greenr Accelerator, we look forward to backing visionary founders and their teams and help them build world-class businesses. We expect this to bring transformative environmental impact and build a brand of conscious capitalism in India."

What's unique about the Accelerator is that each business will be matched to top Business Advisors. These Advisors, full-time staff at TechnoServe, will work closely with entrepreneurs to identify and execute growth strategies tailored to scale their business while achieving greater environmental impact. The participating entrepreneurs will also be a part of a close-knit environment action community of like-minded peers, sector specialists, subject matter experts in India. Entrepreneurs will also participate in a business training and planning course in collaboration with SP Jain School of Global Management. The Accelerator will culminate in a Demo Day with funding opportunities from equity, debt and philanthropic financiers such as Vertex Ventures, Omnivore, Green Artha, India Angel Network, 3i Partners, Peak Ventures, to name a few.

The Greenr Accelerator also joins forces with marquee organizations dedicated to enabling and accelerating environment entrepreneurship such Saahas Zero Waste, Indigram Labs, Climate Asia, FICCI Flo, NDBI, and Marico Innovation Foundation..

The Environment Action sector has a dearth of this nature of support. As a result, many growing businesses with sustainable products/services typically are unable to build a large consumer base or shut shop despite their best efforts. Small & medium green businesses play a pivotal role in mitigating climate risk and environment degradation. In contrast to MNCs and governments, small businesses can innovate faster, addressing the urgent need for sustainable products and services. By accelerating their scale and keeping green businesses alive, TechnoServe is acting as a backbone to the sustainability sector in India.

The Greenr Sustainability Accelerator is unique in that they neither take an equity position nor charge a fee for participation as TechnoServe is a not-for-profit economic development organization. If one is an Environment Action Entrepreneur looking to scale their business, stay in touch. Applications for the second cohort open later this year.

About TechnoServe

TechnoServe is a global leader in micro, small, and growing business acceleration, managing a successful portfolio of 47 programs across 30 countries. TechnoServe works directly with businesses and across whole market systems to make them more sustainable — environmentally, socially, and commercially. The IKEA Foundation and the Visa Foundation are committed to making a positive impact in the world through their joint effort to develop the Greenr Accelerator. They believe in the power of private enterprise to create jobs and transform lives. For more information about Greenr Accelerator, visit www.getgreenr.org

If you're interested in applying for the accelerator, write to us at [email protected]. If you're like-minded and would like to partner with us, write to us at [email protected]. 

About the IKEA Foundation

IKEA Foundation is a Dutch foundation founded in 1982 by Ingvar Kamprad, a Swedish billionaire and founder of IKEA. Independent from the retail business, the IKEA Foundation's sole focus is to create brighter lives on a livable planet through philanthropy and grantmaking. As of 2020, the total grants disbursed by the foundation amounted to $220+ million. Read more about the work done by the IKEA Foundation at https://ikeafoundation.org/themes/.

About the Visa Foundation

The Visa Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Visa, is committed to helping low-income, financially underserved micro and small enterprises around the world to thrive and prosper. The Foundation, registered in the U.S. as a 501(c (3) entity, also supports broader community needs as well as humanitarian responses in times of crisis. Read more about the work done by the Visa Foundation at https://usa.visa.com/about-visa/visa-foundation.html.

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