Our Accelerators - Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship

OUR ACCELERATOR

Apply now for our December cohort!

TAKE YOUR IMPACT TO SCALE AND GET READY FOR THE NEXT LEVEL OF INVESTMENT

Create a credible, investable plan to scale your business and your impact

If you lead a mission-driven social enterprise looking to scale a proven impact model, you’ve come to the right place! Miller Center’s Silicon Valley-based, globally recognized, investment readiness accelerator helps leaders develop pathways to scale and prepare for next-level investment.

We focus on social enterprises working on women’s economic empowerment and/or climate resilience. With proven curricula and accompanied by our outstanding executive mentors and leadership coaches, together we’ll uncover and address gaps and opportunities in your business, and develop an action plan so you can achieve your vision for organizational growth.

Apply by August 25 for our December Cohort

It only takes 2 minutes to see if you qualify

Our next cohort will begin the week of December 4, 2023.

If admitted and enrolled, you will be eligible for a free ticket to SOCAP23 and have an opportunity to present your enterprise at Miller Center’s SOCAP reception. SOCAP23 is a global ecosystem convening event taking place October 23-25, 2023 in San Francisco.

It is one of the key highlights of the year on the social enterprise calendar.

Apply Now

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Grow Your Impact

100% of program participants leave with a more robust, integrated, and credible plan for scaling.

Our graduates have collectively doubled their impact during their first 3 years post-accelerator.

Get Ready for Investment

9 out of 10 graduating social entrepreneurs report significantly increased confidence in their ability to fundraise.

Within 3 years post-program, our graduates increased their investment raised by 50%.

About the Accelerator

Requirements

Application Requirements

A senior leader (e.g. CEO, Executive Director, Managing Director)
Fluent in English
Has consistent and reliable access to internet connectivity
Proficient in Excel
Has the availability to participate in the 6-month program requiring:
- Weekly 1-hour calls with mentors
- Commitment to work a few hours per week on plan to become more investable

Organization Requirements

Committed to creating positive benefits for people living in poverty, addressing one or more of the UN Sustainable Development Goals
Intentional about supporting women’s economic empowerment, climate resilience, or the intersection of both (see below for how Miller Center identifies women’s economic empowerment
and climate resilience).
Committed to scale its solution far beyond current operations
Operational for at least a year and delivering products/services to customers
Has at least $20,000 USD (or local currency equivalent) in annual earned income and is not entirely dependent on contributions or grants
Working financial model forecasting cash flow, balance sheet, income statement
Minimum 3 full-time staff (or equivalent)
Minimum 3-month cash runway

Program Details

Mentor Accompaniment

Work closely with two of our 300+ executive mentors, comprising diverse start-up founders, serial entrepreneurs, and senior executives who have honed their expertise in companies such as Apple, Google, Intel, Paypal, Cisco and others
Leverage dedicated mentoring: 180 hours of executive mentoring that is focused, immersive, and customized to your unique business needs

Tailored Post-Accelerator Support

Access funding opportunities, investment facilitation, bespoke mentoring, leadership coaching, peer-to-peer leadership circles, dedicated support from undergraduate and graduate Santa Clara University students, and more

Our Proven Approach

Apply our proven methodology that combines advanced curriculum with accompaniment by experienced mentors for 6-months of structured programming — like a “mini MBA” for social entrepreneurs
Deep dive into feedback sessions that fully prepare you to present your plans to investors
Prepare mock investment memos to provide investor perspectives and honest assessment of your investment readiness

Our Definitions

Climate Resilience

Social enterprises address the needs of those living in poverty who suffer disproportionately from climate change.Their climate resilience focus areas fall into one of the following three categories:

- Clean Energy — providing access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy
- Safe Water — ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation
- Climate-Smart Agriculture — implementing sustainable food production systems and resilient agricultural practices to increase productivity and production

Women's Economic Empowerment

Social enterprises that have a focus on women’s economic empowerment can be identified through one or more of the following areas (ideally all four):

- Social Enterprise Leaders: The primary participant identifies as female and is a founder, CEO, or other top-level leader with decision-making authority.
- Employees: The business model intentionally creates more jobs for women within the enterprise.
- Value Chain Contributors: The organization creates increasing business opportunities for women along its value chain (e.g., using a village sales agent model that is more amenable to women villagers’ lifestyles or buying products made by women).
- Customers: Predominantly female customers by design. In this case, “customers” refers to those who are positively impacted by the enterprise.

“Participating in the Miller Center Accelerator is the best thing that has happened to us since we started as a company. It’s something that lives with you forever.”

—Angela Odero, Director and Co-founder of Rio Fish

Search Our Social Enterprise Alumni