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C3 EmpowerHer Program 2026: USD 150,000 Catalytic Grant Funding for Women-Centered Climate Resilience Startups in MENA

Fridah Kamuri
C3 EmpowerHer Program 2026: USD 150,000 Catalytic Grant Funding for Women-Centered Climate Resilience Startups in MENA
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Applications are now open for the C3 EmpowerHer Program 2026, a six-month climate resilience accelerator designed to support early-stage ventures that are led by women or primarily benefit women across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

The program is delivered by C3 – Companies Creating Change and funded by the Resilient Futures Fund (RFF). It is designed to help promising climate resilience enterprises strengthen their business models, improve their solutions, access expert guidance, develop pilots, connect with investors and ecosystem partners, and become more investment-ready.

A total of 30 startups will be selected for the program, while the top 10 startups will share USD 150,000 in catalytic grant funding, with each of the top 10 potentially receiving up to USD 20,000 for pilots and impact activities.

The six-month program is scheduled to run from October 2026 through Demo Day in the second quarter of 2027, giving participating founders an opportunity to work intensively with climate, sector, investment, and ecosystem experts.

Applications close on August 31, 2026.

C3 EmpowerHer Program 2026 at a Glance

What Is the C3 EmpowerHer Program?

The C3 EmpowerHer Program is a dedicated support initiative for early-stage climate resilience ventures operating across MENA.

The program focuses on enterprises developing solutions that help communities, economies, and ecosystems withstand, recover from, and thrive despite the effects of climate change.

Rather than focusing exclusively on climate mitigation, the program places particular emphasis on climate resilience. This means supporting businesses that address the practical challenges created or intensified by climate change, including water insecurity, food and agricultural challenges, extreme heat, flooding, coastal risks, infrastructure vulnerability, sustainable livelihoods, and access to climate finance.

The program also has a strong gender dimension. Eligible ventures must either be led by women or provide solutions that primarily benefit women, with gender impact intentionally incorporated into the venture’s approach.

Through six months of structured support, C3 EmpowerHer aims to help participating startups strengthen their solutions, develop market opportunities, execute pilots, and prepare for investment.

USD 150,000 in Catalytic Grant Funding

One of the most significant features of C3 EmpowerHer is its catalytic grant component.

The program will select 30 startups, with the top 10 startups receiving additional support and access to a total of USD 150,000 in catalytic grant funding.

The program states that the top 10 startups can receive up to USD 20,000 per startup to support pilots and impact.

This funding is intended to help promising ventures move beyond ideas and early validation toward practical implementation, testing, market engagement, and measurable climate and gender impact.

The catalytic nature of the funding can be particularly valuable for early-stage startups that may need additional capital to demonstrate their solutions to customers, partners, investors, and other ecosystem stakeholders.

What Does the Six-Month Program Offer?

C3 EmpowerHer is structured as a six-month hands-on support program rather than simply a grant competition.

Participating ventures can receive a combination of training, expert guidance, mentorship, strategic support, ecosystem access, and pilot development assistance.

The program runs from October 2026 through Demo Day in Q2 2027.

1. Expert-Led Training

Every startup selected for the cohort will have access to expert-led training through approximately 8 to 12 virtual workshops.

These workshops are organized across five core modules and are intended to strengthen the capabilities of participating founders and teams.

The training component can help entrepreneurs build the knowledge and practical skills required to strengthen their ventures and navigate the climate innovation ecosystem.

2. Tailored Expert Support

Startups will receive tailored guidance from experts working across:

Rather than providing identical support to every startup, the program is designed to offer guidance that responds to the specific needs and circumstances of participating ventures.

3. Mentorship and Strategic Guidance

The program includes mentorship and advisory support to help founders address challenges affecting their ventures.

This can be particularly important for early-stage businesses that have developed an MVP and achieved initial traction but require additional strategic support to move toward the next stage of growth.

4. Investor and Ecosystem Access

Participating startups will gain access to C3’s network of:

This network can potentially help participating founders build relationships with organizations that can contribute to business growth, investment, partnerships, market access, and future opportunities.

Additional Benefits for the Top 10 Startups

While all 30 selected startups will receive core program support, the top 10 startups will receive additional benefits.

These include strategic advisory sessions, catalytic pilot funding, pilot design support, and participation in an in-person Demo Day in Egypt.

Strategic Advisory Sessions

The top 10 startups will receive access to 10 expert advisory boards, alongside development of a strategic roadmap.

This additional layer of support is designed to provide more targeted guidance as the selected ventures work toward strengthening their businesses and scaling their impact.

Catalytic Pilot Funding

The top 10 startups can receive up to USD 20,000 each to support pilot projects and impact activities.

Pilot funding can be especially valuable for early-stage climate ventures because it can help bridge the gap between an early solution and broader market adoption.

Pilot Design Support

Top-performing ventures will also receive support in designing pilots.

The program indicates that these pilots will be developed with market enablers, potentially helping startups test their solutions in environments where they can demonstrate commercial and impact potential.

Demo Day in Egypt

The program will culminate in an in-person Demo Day in Egypt during Q2 2027.

This provides selected startups with an opportunity to showcase their ventures to investors and other relevant stakeholders.

For early-stage founders, such a platform can be an important opportunity to communicate their business models, demonstrate their solutions, highlight their impact, and develop relationships with potential investors and partners.

Who Should Apply?

C3 EmpowerHer is specifically designed for early-stage climate resilience ventures operating in MENA.

The program is not intended for every type of startup. Ventures should demonstrate a clear connection to both climate resilience and gender impact.

According to the program criteria, a venture should meet the following characteristics.

1. Women-Centered and Climate-Focused

The venture must either:

The business must also have climate resilience at the core of its mission.

The program therefore distinguishes climate resilience from businesses that focus solely on general sustainability or pure climate mitigation.

Applicants should be able to clearly demonstrate how their solution helps people, communities, businesses, or ecosystems adapt to climate-related challenges.

2. Early-Stage With Traction

The program is intended for ventures at the:

Applicants should have an MVP, or minimum viable product, and early evidence of traction.

This means the program is designed for ventures that have moved beyond the purely conceptual stage.

Founders should be able to demonstrate that they have developed an initial version of their solution and have some evidence that the market, customers, beneficiaries, partners, or other stakeholders are responding to it.

3. MENA-Based or MENA-Operating

The venture must be:

This requirement makes the program specifically relevant to entrepreneurs addressing climate resilience challenges within the region.

Importantly, the source material identifies the region as MENA but does not provide a specific list of individual countries. Prospective applicants should therefore verify their country’s eligibility through the official application information before applying.

4. Intentional Gender and Climate Impact

Impact must be intentionally incorporated into the venture’s solution.

The program is looking for businesses with clear intentionality around both:

Applicants should therefore be able to explain not only what their business does commercially, but also how it contributes to improving resilience and addressing challenges affecting women.

5. Commitment to the Full Program

The founding team must be prepared to commit time to the six-month program.

This includes participation in activities such as:

Founders should therefore ensure that their teams have sufficient availability to participate meaningfully throughout the program.

C3 EmpowerHer Focus Areas

The program identifies several key climate resilience areas where it is seeking solutions.

These focus areas include:

Water and Sanitation

Solutions addressing water availability, water security, sanitation challenges, and climate-related pressures on water systems.

Food and Agri-Climate

Innovations addressing food security and the effects of climate change on agriculture and food systems.

This may include solutions designed to help agricultural communities adapt to changing climate conditions and strengthen food-system resilience.

Heat Resilience

Solutions helping people, communities, businesses, and infrastructure respond to increasing heat and extreme temperature conditions.

Coastal and Flood Adaptation

Businesses developing solutions for communities and ecosystems exposed to flooding, coastal risks, and other climate-related hazards.

Nature-Based Solutions

Innovations that use or work with natural systems to address climate resilience challenges.

Climate-Resilient Infrastructure

Solutions aimed at making infrastructure more capable of withstanding climate-related risks and disruptions.

Sustainable Livelihoods

Enterprises helping communities develop livelihoods that are more resilient and sustainable in the face of climate change.

Climate Finance Access

Solutions designed to improve access to financing for climate resilience activities, particularly where financial barriers prevent communities or businesses from adopting climate solutions.

Why Climate Resilience Matters for MENA

The C3 EmpowerHer Program is focused on a region where climate resilience is increasingly important to communities, businesses, infrastructure, food systems, and natural ecosystems.

The program’s focus on areas such as water and sanitation, agriculture, heat resilience, coastal adaptation, infrastructure, livelihoods, and climate finance reflects the broad range of challenges that climate change can create for societies and economies.

By supporting early-stage ventures, the program seeks to strengthen businesses that are developing practical solutions to these challenges.

The gender focus is equally significant because the program specifically seeks ventures that place women at the center of climate resilience solutions, either through women-led entrepreneurship or solutions designed primarily to benefit women.

Why Startups Should Consider Applying

There are several reasons why an eligible climate resilience startup may find C3 EmpowerHer valuable.

Access to Specialized Expertise

Climate startups often need advice that goes beyond traditional business development.

The program connects participants with experts in climate, relevant sectors, and investment, giving founders an opportunity to receive guidance tailored to their challenges.

Strengthening Business Readiness

Early-stage ventures may have promising technologies or solutions but still need to strengthen their business models, market strategies, operations, and investment readiness.

The program is designed to help founders address these areas through structured support.

Opportunity to Develop Pilots

For the top 10 startups, access to pilot funding and pilot design support can help transform an early-stage solution into a real-world demonstration.

A successful pilot can potentially provide evidence that can later be used when engaging customers, partners, investors, and other stakeholders.

Investor and Ecosystem Connections

Access to investors and ecosystem partners can be particularly important for startups seeking to move from early traction toward additional capital and market opportunities.

Through C3’s network, participants can potentially connect with venture capital firms, development finance institutions, corporations, and impact funds.

International Visibility

The Demo Day in Egypt provides the top 10 startups with a platform to showcase their ventures to investors.

For founders seeking investment or strategic partnerships, the opportunity to present their solutions to relevant stakeholders can be an important component of their growth journey.

Program Timeline

The C3 EmpowerHer Program is expected to operate over approximately six months.

The program begins in October 2026 and continues through Demo Day in Q2 2027.

The general progression includes:

  1. Selection of the 30 participating startups.
  2. Program commencement in October 2026.
  3. Expert-led virtual workshops.
  4. Tailored mentorship and advisory support.
  5. Diagnostics and strategic development.
  6. Pilot design and implementation support for the top 10 startups.
  7. Catalytic funding for qualifying top-10 ventures.
  8. Investor and ecosystem engagement.
  9. Demo Day in Egypt in Q2 2027.

Applicants should be prepared to remain actively engaged throughout the six-month period.

Application Deadline

The deadline to apply for the C3 EmpowerHer Program is:

August 31, 2026

Entrepreneurs should avoid waiting until the final day to submit their applications. Early preparation gives founders enough time to review their eligibility, prepare information about their startup, articulate their climate and gender impact, and ensure that the application accurately reflects their venture.

How to Prepare a Strong Application

Eligible founders should consider several important elements when preparing their application.

Clearly Explain the Climate Problem

Your application should make it easy to understand the climate challenge your venture is addressing.

Explain:

Demonstrate Your MVP and Traction

Because C3 EmpowerHer targets early-stage ventures with an MVP and evidence of traction, applicants should clearly communicate where their startup currently stands.

Where applicable, founders should be prepared to demonstrate:

Explain the Gender Impact

The gender component should be clearly articulated.

If the startup is women-led, applicants should clearly demonstrate this.

If the startup is women-benefitting, founders should explain how women are the primary beneficiaries and what measurable or intended outcomes the solution creates for them.

Demonstrate Climate Resilience

Applicants should make the connection between their product or service and climate resilience explicit.

Do not assume that reviewers will automatically understand the climate relevance of the business.

Explain how the venture helps communities, economies, or ecosystems prepare for, withstand, recover from, or adapt to climate-related challenges.

Explain Why You Need the Program

Strong applicants should be able to identify the specific challenges for which C3 EmpowerHer support would be valuable.

These could include:

Demonstrate Commitment

Since the program requires a significant time commitment over six months, founders should demonstrate that their core team is ready to participate fully.

What the Resilient Futures Fund Does

C3 EmpowerHer is funded by the Resilient Futures Fund (RFF).

According to the program information, the Resilient Futures Fund aims to strengthen resilience and increase opportunities for climate solutions that are led by, involve, or benefit women and girls.

The fund provides catalytic capital and support to climate solutions aligned with these objectives.

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

The program information directs interested readers to the Resilient Futures Fund’s official information for further details.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is C3 EmpowerHer?

C3 EmpowerHer is a six-month program supporting early-stage women-led or women-benefitting climate resilience ventures across MENA.

How many startups will be selected?

The program will select 30 startups.

How much grant funding is available?

A total of USD 150,000 in catalytic grant funding will be distributed across the top 10 startups.

How much can one startup receive?

Each of the top 10 startups can receive up to USD 20,000 for pilots and impact activities.

What stage should the startup be at?

The program is designed for early-stage ventures from pre-seed to pre-Series A, with an MVP and early evidence of traction.

Does the startup need to be focused on climate resilience?

Yes. Climate resilience should be central to the venture’s mission. The program specifically distinguishes its focus from solutions focused purely on mitigation.

Does the venture need to have a gender component?

Yes. The venture must either be women-led or provide a solution that benefits women as primary beneficiaries, with intentional gender impact incorporated into the solution.

Where should the startup operate?

The venture must be headquartered in or primarily operating within MENA.

How long is the program?

The program lasts six months, beginning in October 2026 and continuing through Demo Day in Q2 2027.

APPLY HERE

Is the program entirely in person?

The source states that the program includes 8–12 virtual workshops, while the Demo Day in Egypt is an in-person showcase. The supplied information does not provide enough detail to state that every component is entirely virtual or entirely in person.

When is the application deadline?

Applications close on August 31, 2026.

Visit HERE for more information about the C3 EmpowerHer Program 2026.

Final Conclusion

The C3 EmpowerHer Program 2026 presents a substantial opportunity for early-stage climate resilience entrepreneurs working across the Middle East and North Africa.

With 30 startups set to participate, the program combines expert-led training, tailored mentorship, strategic advisory support, investor and ecosystem access, pilot development, and opportunities to connect with major climate and investment stakeholders.

The opportunity becomes particularly significant for the top 10 startups, which can benefit from additional strategic advisory support, pilot design assistance, an opportunity to participate in market-enabling pilots, and access to USD 150,000 in catalytic grant funding, with individual grants of up to USD 20,000.

For entrepreneurs working on water and sanitation, food and agricultural resilience, extreme heat, coastal and flood adaptation, nature-based solutions, resilient infrastructure, sustainable livelihoods, or climate finance access, C3 EmpowerHer offers a structured pathway to strengthen both their ventures and their climate impact.

The program’s deliberate emphasis on women-led and women-benefitting solutions also makes it particularly relevant to founders developing climate resilience innovations with strong gender outcomes.

Eligible founders should begin preparing their applications early and ensure they can clearly demonstrate their startup’s MVP, early traction, MENA connection, climate resilience focus, gender impact, and commitment to the six-month program.

Application deadline: August 31, 2026.

For more global Grant opportunities, visit OFY HERE.

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