Reach for Change Ghana to benefit from Village Capital’s GHS40m ESEA Program

Reach for Change Ghana has been selected as one of five standout ecosystem builders for the next phase of Village Capital’s Empowering Sustainable Entrepreneurship in Africa (ESEA) program. With support from Norad – the Norwegian Agency for

Development Cooperation, Reach for Change will receive up to USD 250K (approx. GHS 40M) to empower climate-focused startups in Ghana.
This initiative aims to strengthen impact-creating climate startups 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 implemented in 2024, which 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 programs and provide pass-through funding to the climate-focused startups they support.
Reach for Change (Ghana) will join Catalyst Fund (Kenya), Ennovate Ventures (Tanzania), Emerge
Livelihoods (Malawi), and IdeiaLab (Mozambique), each receiving up to USD 260K to enhance team capacity, conduct workshops, and provide regrants to selected startups.
Collectively, they will build a regional pipeline of 500 startups, support 100 through pre-acceleration workshops, and accelerate 30 per country in two cohorts. Upon program completion, four startups per market will receive USD 25K each in grant funding.
The call for applications is open to early-stage startups in the target markets developing high-potential and scalable sustainability solutions in Climate Adaptation, Renewable Energy, Blue Economy, and Food Security.
Startups should apply here based on their country of operation. Applications close on April 30,
2025.

About Reach for Change
Since Reach for Change Foundation started its operations in Ghana in 2012, they have supported more than 300 social entrepreneurs who have reached more than 800,000 young people. They have also worked with over 200 women and youth on entrepreneurship capacity development and economic empowerment.
Now the foundation is a critical player in the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Ghana. Through the hybrid model of tailored capacity-building and ecosystem development, they identify and build the capacity of early-stage social entrepreneurs, develop local entrepreneurial ecosystems, and build strategic funding alliances to support and scale existing or new social enterprises for sustainable development.

About Village Capital
Village Capital is reinventing the system to back the entrepreneurs of the future. Known for its groundbreaking approaches to supporting founders who are building solutions to emergent social, economic, and environmental challenges, VilCap unlocks critical social and financial capital for early-stage companies to maximize business and impact growth.
Village Capital has operated in sub-Saharan Africa since 2012, running over 14 accelerator programs serving entrepreneurs in 15 countries in the region. VilCap has supported more than 120 locally-based startups and 78 Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESO) working in sectors such as financial health, hardware, sustainability, and the future of work.

About Norad
Norad is the Norwegian agency for development cooperation. We work for the world to achieve the UN’s
Sustainable Development Goals. Norad is a professional body under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Together with our partners and on behalf of Norway, Norad strives for a greener future in a world without
poverty. Human rights must be respected, and none left out. By way of knowledge and cooperation, we
ensure that the funds of Norwegian development aid contribute to global development.

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