ACCEL is for you.

BIPOC entrepreneurs: your climatetech solutions can change the world.

Expand your impact with ACCEL.

Apply by Jan. 5

View the RFP

About ACCEL

ACCEL is here to bolster you as you develop critical climatetech solutions by offering access to funding, networking connections, resources, and opportunities that structural inequities put out of reach. We embrace intersectionality and look forward to you bringing your full self to the program.

This year-long program combines acceleration with a curated curriculum, incubation through a Greentown Labs membership, and extensive mentorship from Greentown and Browning the Green Space (BGS)’s networks of industry experts. Greentown and BGS know the climatetech industry must change the status quo to equitably position you to lead startups that will address climate change, support the development of diverse workforces, and fiercely advocate for the deployment of clean technologies in historically underserved communities.

Solving the climate crisis presents an incredible economic opportunity where we can create an equitable, inclusive clean energy transition for generations to come.

Let’s work together to make that vision a reality.

“ACCEL has been amazing. I’ve really enjoyed the membership and programming. I think it’s fantastic—if I met another Black or Brown founder focused on climatetech, I’d tell them to apply to this program, 100 percent.”
—Chidalu Onyenso, founder of Earthbond

How ACCEL Can Benefit You

Work alongside a cohort of exceptional BIPOC founders to build and scale your startup
Develop your own roadmap to success within a curriculum of workshops led by experts on a range of topics, including customer discovery, optimizing team performance, design thinking and prototyping, growth hacking, startup finance, storytelling and pitching, mental health & self-care, and more
Receive $25,000 in non-dilutive grant funding
Receive mentorship from Greentown Labs and BGS’s networks of mentors and startup experts
Receive desk space and membership within Greentown Labs and gain exclusive access to events, utilize spaces, and build meaningful relationships with key climatetech partners
Receive BGS membership to unlock opportunities to learn, connect, and engage with practitioners in the clean energy sector on a just energy transition for Black and Brown communities

Read about previous founders’ success through ACCEL

Scope

For Year 2 of the ACCEL program, we’re seeking applications from innovative startups at TRL 1-4 with founding and executive teams that are primarily made up of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) leaders who are developing climate solutions for the electricity, transportation, buildings, manufacturing, agriculture, and resiliency + adaptation sectors.

View the RFP

“ACCEL gives participating startups a stipend, but all the benefit we got from the program was so much more than the monetary benefit. We have access to the great Greentown community, which helps with meeting investors, and meeting potential partners.”
—Lina M. González, co-founder of SpadXTech