C3, a B Corp™ certified impact platform, is proud to announce it has received a grant from the Resilient Futures Fund (RFF), an initiative strengthening resilience and increasing opportunities for climate solutions led by, involving or benefiting women and girls – by providing catalytic capital and support.

RFF is managed by 2X Global and supported by Amazon, Reckitt, the Skoll Foundation, the UPS Foundation and the Visa Foundation.

The grant will fund the launch of the EmpowerHer Climate Program, a 6-month online accelerator – delivered by C3 – which will target 30+ startups developing climate adaptation startup solutions benefitting, involving or led by women and girls across MENA.

Women are disproportionately affected by climate change with 80% of those displaced by climate disasters being women and girls. Females in MENA are among the most determined problem-solvers tackling the climate challenge; yet start-ups already building solutions remain chronically under-resourced.

The EmpowerHer Climate Program is designed to change that: backing startups, regardless of founder gender, whose solution directly strengthens climate resilience for women and girls across the region.

Selected climate adaptation startups will receive hands-on capacity-building support (across climate finance, solution design, market strategy, impact measurement & gender-responsive leadership); expert mentorship; and a regional investor showcase at Demo Day.  The 10 highest-potential startups selected by an advisory panel will share USD150,000 in equity-free catalytic grant funding and earn the opportunity to pitch at a regional Demo Day in Egypt.

Applications for the EmpowerHer Climate Program are now open, and will close on August 31st.

Startups based in, operating or planning to expand to MENA, whose solutions are women-centric, are encouraged to apply via https://r5jvwokp661.typeform.com/to/i2ZeZuNr

Medea Nocentini, Senior Partner at Global Ventures & Founder of C3, said:

“MENA is on the frontlines of climate change, and women and girls bear a disproportionate share of that burden. Yet the enterprises building solutions to this crisis remain chronically underfunded. EmpowerHer Climate exists to close that gap. In collaboration with the Resilient Futures Fund, we are looking for solutions that deliver real, measurable impact across the region.”

C3 is part of the Global Ventures platform, a leading venture capital firm investing in founders across emerging markets in the Middle East & Africa.

Jessica Espinoza, CEO of 2x Global, commented:

“We are proud to partner with C3 to help unlock greater opportunities for women-centred climate innovation across the MENA region. Through the Resilient Futures Fund, we invest in intermediaries that can strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems, mobilise additional capital, and ensure that climate solutions benefiting women and girls have the support they need to grow and scale.”