What are we looking for in Cohort 1 of Ignite Latin America and the Caribbean?
Water is central to livelihoods, food security, infrastructure, and economic activity in Latin America and the Caribbean. But climate change is increasingly putting pressure on water systems, ecosystems, and the communities that depend on them.
Droughts, rising water temperatures, changes in rainfall, flooding, saltwater intrusion, pollution, and ecosystem degradation are affecting water security, food production, infrastructure, businesses, and livelihoods across the region.
Ignite Latin America and the Caribbean Cohort 1 focuses on the economics of water for climate resilience and adaptation. The economics of water extends beyond oceans and coastlines: it includes marine, coastal, freshwater, river, rainfall-dependent, wetland, and watershed systems, as well as the communities and businesses that depend on them.
We are looking for founders who build practical solutions so that vulnerable communities and businesses can anticipate, resist, recover, and adapt to climate pressures on these systems.
Who is Ignite for?
Founders who build climate resilience and adaptation solutions for vulnerable communities, who already have something concrete (an app, a device, a data model, a service protocol), but have not yet tested it with the users they are targeting.
We aim to create cohorts with at least 40% women in leadership positions (ideally led or co-led by women), and with a near 50/50 split between AI-first companies (where the business model is the product) and companies with integrated AI (where AI refines an otherwise traditional solution). You don’t need extensive AI experience to apply, just curiosity and a willingness to learn and use AI tools throughout the program.
What are we looking for in Cohort 1 of Ignite Latin America and the Caribbean?
Water is central to livelihoods, food security, infrastructure, and economic activity in Latin America and the Caribbean. But climate change is increasingly putting pressure on water systems, ecosystems, and the communities that depend on them.
Droughts, rising water temperatures, changes in rainfall, flooding, saltwater intrusion, pollution, and ecosystem degradation are affecting water security, food production, infrastructure, businesses, and livelihoods across the region.
Ignite Latin America and the Caribbean Cohort 1 focuses on the economics of water for climate resilience and adaptation. The economics of water extends beyond oceans and coastlines: it includes marine, coastal, freshwater, river, rainfall-dependent, wetland, and watershed systems, as well as the communities and businesses that depend on them.
We are looking for founders who build practical solutions so that vulnerable communities and businesses can anticipate, resist, recover, and adapt to climate pressures on these systems.
Who can apply?
Ignite Latin America and the Caribbean is open to early-stage micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), startups, social enterprises or other founder-led ventures that develop solutions to strengthen climate adaptation and resilience within the water economy.
Regardless of their legal structure, applicants must have a business model that generates revenue from customers or is credibly progressing towards doing so. Organizations whose primary source of funding is donations or cooperation resources are not eligible.
It is not required to have an incorporated company to apply to Ignite, although we strongly recommend being registered or having concrete plans to register before the program ends.
Large corporations and mature organizations with commercially established products and operating at scale are not the primary audience for this cohort.
What you receive
- Weekly group workshops on AI methods and applications, customer discovery, lean experimentation, and impact measurement
- 1:1 sessions with AI, product, and industry specialists
- Subscriptions to selected tools during the program
- Practical guides for conducting trials in low-income and climate-vulnerable markets
- In-depth feedback on your next path, from industry experts and investors
What are you leaving with?
- A business model refined and enhanced with AI
- Evidence of impact and demand from real users, and a credible pitch for external stakeholders
- The strongest graduates are identified for future Propel cohorts, although Ignite does not automatically promote them to any company.
Cohort size and format
- 13 to 14 founders per cohort
- Completely remote
- One or two sessions per week, plus asynchronous work between sessions, including scheduling 1:1 sessions when needed.
- Content workshops can be recorded to facilitate asynchronous participation from founders with caregiving responsibilities or business demands.
