Turn a climate idea into a business.
Join 200 young people from across the Global South to learn how to build a green business. Twenty live sessions, practical workshops, and support from mentors and peers. Free for ages 16 to 24.
Learn it. Build it. Test it.
You care about a climate problem in your community. How do you turn that concern into something people will use and pay for? The Fellowship helps you work through that question, from understanding your customers to testing a product and planning how it earns revenue.
You’ll develop your own venture throughout the programme. By the final module, you’ll have worked on a business model, basic financial projections, an impact plan, and a pitch you can share with potential supporters.
Help two fellows get to SB Bonn.
We’re seeking sponsors to bring two fellows to our planned Actions House event alongside the UNFCCC SB meetings in Bonn. Support would cover flights, visas, accommodation, and meals. We’ll share selection and travel details as funding is secured.
How you’ll learn
Live sessions
Twenty 90-minute sessions on Zoom, combining teaching, workshops, and time with your peers. Session times will rotate across time zones, with recordings available afterwards.
Peer learning pods
Work with a regional group of 8 to 12 fellows, supported by a pod leader. Share progress, test ideas, and help each other between sessions.
Weekly venture exercises
Apply each week’s lessons to your own idea. AI-assisted feedback helps you review your business assumptions, financial plans, and pitch.
Mentor office hours
Book an optional 15-minute conversation with a mentor to work through a specific question about your venture.
Capstone & Demo Day
Finish with a five-minute recorded pitch and a two-page venture brief. Selected fellows will present live to investors and mentors at Demo Day.
What comes next
Stay connected through the Green Founders Network, apply to pitch at future Actions House events, and hear about mentoring and partner opportunities.
Five skills for building a venture
The programme covers the practical skills you’ll use as a founder.
Twenty sessions. Ten modules.
Explore the ten modules below to see what you’ll learn and build.
Module 01FoundationsWhy green business + finding your problem
The Green Business OpportunityLecture + Q&A
Explore opportunities in green business through examples from Global South founders. See how they connected a local climate problem with a customer need.
Finding Your ProblemWorkshop
Choose a climate challenge in your community and find out who needs a solution. Learn how to test your assumptions before building.
Module 02From Idea to VentureDesign thinking + business model canvas
Design Thinking for Green ProductsWorkshop
Get to know your potential customers, explore possible solutions, and sketch your first product or service.
Business Model CanvasWorkshop
Map your venture on one page: who it serves, what it offers, how it earns money, and what it costs to run.
Module 03Product & Service DesignDesigning and building your MVP on a budget
Designing Your Product or ServiceWorkshop + Guest
Define the simplest useful version of your product or service, how customers will use it, and what you might charge.
Building an MVP on a BudgetWorkshop
Use simple prototypes, no-code tools, and small experiments to test an idea before investing more time or money.
Module 04Legal & PolicyLegal structures + navigating regulation
Legal Structures for Social EnterprisesLecture + Q&A
Compare common business and social enterprise structures. Learn the basics of registration, intellectual property, and agreements between co-founders.
Navigating Policy & RegulationLecture + Guest
Identify the policies, permits, and regulations that could affect your venture, and the questions to take to a local adviser.
Module 05Financial FoundationsFinancial literacy + revenue models
Financial Literacy for FoundersWorkshop
Learn to read a profit and loss statement, plan cash flow, and work out when your venture could cover its costs.
Revenue Models & Unit EconomicsWorkshop
Compare ways to earn revenue, set a price, and understand the costs and margin behind each sale.
Module 06Marketing & BrandBrand storytelling + digital marketing on zero budget
Building Your Brand StoryWorkshop + Guest
Explain what you do, who you help, and why it matters. Develop a clear message customers and supporters can remember.
Digital Marketing on Zero BudgetWorkshop
Choose channels that fit your audience and create useful content with the resources you have. Explore examples across social media and messaging platforms.
Module 07Impact & EducationEducational campaigns + measuring impact
Designing Educational CampaignsWorkshop
Create an educational campaign that helps people understand your issue and take action. Explore where education could fit into your business model.
Measuring & Communicating ImpactLecture + Workshop
Decide what progress looks like, choose useful measures, and explain your impact with evidence.
Module 08Fundraising & DonorsFundraising landscape + engaging investors and donors
Fundraising 101Lecture + Guest
Compare grants, competitions, crowdfunding, revenue-based finance, and angel investment. Work out which options fit your venture’s stage.
Engaging Donors & InvestorsWorkshop
Research potential funders, write a clear approach, prepare a proposal, and follow up well.
Module 09Operations & ScaleRunning day-to-day + partnerships and growth
Running Your Venture Day-to-DayLecture + Q&A
Plan the work, manage your time, and decide where you need help. Build routines that keep a small team moving.
Partnerships & Pathways to ScaleLecture + Guest
Identify partners who can help you reach more customers and plan what needs to change as your venture grows.
Module 10Pitch & LaunchPitch practice + Demo Day
Pitch Practice & FeedbackWorkshop
Practise a five-minute pitch with peers and mentors, hear their feedback, and refine your story.
Demo Day & What Comes NextLive Event
Selected fellows pitch live to investors, mentors, and partners from the Actions House network, then discuss their next steps.
Your journey
Start with onboarding, then build your venture through four phases.
Onboarding
Start on 3 November 2026. Meet your pod, get set up, and choose a climate problem in your community to explore during the programme.
Build the foundation
Modules 1 to 4. Identify a real problem, design a product or service, map the business model, understand legal structures.
Deliverable: Business Model Canvas + legal structure decisionPlan the business
Modules 5 to 7. Financial modelling, marketing strategy, impact measurement, educational campaign design.
Deliverable: financial projections + marketing plan + impact frameworkFind your supporters
Modules 8 and 9. Fundraising strategy, donor engagement, operational planning, partnership development.
Deliverable: fundraising strategy + pitch draftPresent your venture
Module 10. Practise your pitch, refine it with feedback, and prepare your final venture brief. Selected fellows present at Demo Day.
Deliverable: final venture brief + recorded pitchYoung people aged 16 to 24 from the Global South.
You can apply without a business background or a settled idea. Bring curiosity about climate solutions, a willingness to try things, and time to take part over two months. The programme is free, with a focus on young people who have had limited access to opportunities like this.
Apply with three short answers and a 60-second video introducing yourself. We want to hear what matters to you and what you’d like to build.
Selection criteria
- Climate commitment. Genuine concern for environmental challenges in your community
- Entrepreneurial curiosity. Initiative, resourcefulness, or a desire to build something
- Coachability. Open to feedback, willing to collaborate, committed to completing the programme
- Diversity. We actively seek geographic, gender, and socioeconomic diversity
After the Fellowship
Join us at SB Bonn
Apply to join our planned 2027 edition alongside the UNFCCC SB meetings. We’re seeking travel support for two fellows; selection details will follow.
Explore the Bonn plans →Future events
Apply to pitch at future Actions House editions.
Mentor connections
Connect with mentors whose experience is relevant to your venture.
A founder community
Join the Green Founders Network to share resources, opportunities, and progress.
Partner opportunities
Hear about relevant accelerators, grants, and impact funds as your venture develops.
Start with an idea. Build from there.
We’re also welcoming sponsors, guest speakers, pod leaders, and partner organisations.