Reach for Change Ghana has been selected as one of five leading ecosystem builders for the next phase of Village Capital’s Empowering Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Africa (ESEA) programme.

With support from Norad – the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation – Reach for Change will receive up to US$250,000 (₵40 million) to empower climate-focused start-ups in Ghana.

This initiative aims to strengthen impact-driven climate start-ups by providing investment-readiness support and direct capital in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania.

Building on the success of Phase One of the initiative, which was implemented in 2024 and supported 14 community-led Ecosystem Builders from the five target countries, this next phase will see Village Capital partner with five ecosystem builders – one from each country – to run their entrepreneur-focused programmes and provide funding to the climate-focused start-ups they support.

Reach for Change will join Catalyst Fund (Kenya), Ennovate Ventures (Tanzania), Emerge Livelihoods (Malawi), and IdeiaLab (Mozambique), with each organisation receiving up to US$260,000 to enhance team capacity, conduct workshops, and provide regrants to selected start-ups.

Together, they will build a regional pipeline of 500 start-ups, support 100 through pre-acceleration workshops, and accelerate 30 per country in two cohorts.

Upon programme completion, four start-ups per market will each receive US$25,000 in grant funding.

The call for applications is open to early-stage start-ups in the target markets developing high-potential and scalable sustainability solutions in Climate Adaptation, Renewable Energy, the Blue Economy, and Food Security.

Start-ups should apply here based on their country of operation. Applications close on 30 April 2025.

Since the Reach for Change Foundation began its operations in Ghana in 2012, it has supported over 300 social entrepreneurs who have impacted over 800,000 young people.

The foundation has also worked with over 200 women and youth on entrepreneurship capacity-building and economic empowerment.

The foundation is now a key player in the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Ghana. Through a hybrid model of tailored capacity-building and ecosystem development, it identifies and builds the capacity of early-stage social entrepreneurs, develops local entrepreneurial ecosystems, and forms strategic funding alliances to support and scale existing or new social enterprises for sustainable development.

Village Capital is reinventing the system to back the entrepreneurs of the future. Known for its pioneering approaches to supporting founders in building solutions to urgent social, economic, and environmental challenges, Village Capital unlocks crucial social and financial capital for early-stage companies to maximise business and impact growth.

Village Capital has operated in sub-Saharan Africa since 2012, running over 14 accelerator programmes that have supported entrepreneurs in 15 countries across the region.

Village Capital has assisted more than 120 locally based start-ups and 78 Entrepreneur Support Organisations (ESOs) working in sectors such as financial health, hardware, sustainability, and the future of work.

Norad is the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. We work towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals worldwide.

Norad is a professional body under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Norad strives for a greener future in a world without poverty with our partners and on behalf of Norway. Human rights must be respected, and no one should be left behind.

Through knowledge and cooperation, we ensure that Norwegian development aid contributes to global development.