Greentown Labs and Browning the Green Space Open Applications for Year 2 of the ACCEL Program to Support BIPOC Founders

SOMERVILLE, Mass. and HOUSTON, Nov. 14, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Greentown Labs, the largest climatetech incubator in North America, and Browning the Green Space (BGS), a nonprofit dedicated to making clean energy and other climate-related fields more diverse, equitable, and inclusive, are accepting applications from BIPOC-led climatetech startups for Year 2 of the Advancing Climatetech and Clean Energy Leaders Program (ACCEL).

ACCEL bolsters startups as they develop critical climatetech solutions by offering access to funding, networking connections, resources, and opportunities that structural inequities put out of reach. The year-long program combines acceleration with a curated curriculum, incubation at Greentown, and extensive mentorship from Greentown and BGS’s networks of industry experts.

Startups selected for ACCEL will benefit from the accelerator by:

• Engaging in a curated curriculum of workshops led by experts, including from VentureWell, covering various essential topics for early-stage climatetech founders
• Working alongside fellow BIPOC founders
• Receiving $25k in non-dilutive grant funding
• Gaining valuable mentorship from experienced industry experts
• Receiving desk space and membership within Greentown for the duration of the program, which grants access to $1M+ of in-kind resources, including software and legal support; 70+ corporate partners; community resources; and more
• Receiving 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

The Year 2 request for applications comes as a successful inaugural year of ACCEL winds to a close. ACCEL Year 1 featured six startups working on innovations as diverse as sneakers made from food waste, ultracapacitors built with hemp sourced from Black and Indigenous farmers, and ultra-light solar panels. Their accomplishments during the accelerator included raising equity funding, earning acceptances into additional accelerators, winning grants, executing customer discovery, and more. Further results from Year 1 of ACCEL can be found here.

This program is a unique partnership between Greentown and BGS and is supported by the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC), a state economic development agency dedicated to accelerating the growth of the clean energy sector across the Commonwealth.

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