The call for proposals in India is now open. ANDE expects to announce subgrant winners by mid June 2025.
Overview
- ANDE is seeking proposals for its round two launched Investment Innovation Fund, which aims to empower selected entrepreneurship support organizations (ESOs) to develop supplementary programs or interventions in collaboration with investors.
- These initiatives are anticipated to enhance capital deployment in waste and circularity businesses.
- The proposed projects will pilot, test, or expand scalable solutions to support Waste and Circularity in Small and Growing Businesses (SGBs) in India, generating valuable insights for the wider SGB sector.
ANDE India Investment Innovation Fund Office Hours
Are you considering applying for Round Two of the ANDE Investment Innovation Fund? Do you have questions about eligibility, project scope, or the application process? Join our Office Hours to get the guidance you need!
📅 Date & Time: 23 April 2025, 3:00 – 4:00 PM IST
📍 Location: Virtual
About ANDE
The Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) is a global network of organizations that propel entrepreneurship in developing economies. ANDE members support “the missing middle”—the small and growing businesses that are the engines of growth in developing economies and have the potential to address critical social and environmental challenges.
Members include both for and nonprofit investment funds, capacity development providers, research institutions, development finance institutions, foundations, and corporations from around the world.
In partnership with the IKEA Foundation, ANDE set out in 2021 to understand and bolster support for green entrepreneurial ecosystems in India and Kenya, which is key to helping both countries adapt to the effects of climate change. The project culminated in detailed research reports outlining the opportunities and challenges in each country.
The primary challenge cited by entrepreneurs and intermediaries was access to finance, driven by a limited number of local investors interested in green enterprises, a lack of clarity regarding the business models and potential return on investment, and a tendency for investors to prefer tech-oriented solutions that are quick to scale.
ANDE and the IKEA Foundation are now undertaking a second phase to work toward closing these gaps in access to finance, focusing specifically on the waste management and circularity sectors.
