About the Program

Lee en español

Approximately 192 million Latin Americans do not have access to healthcare services due to financial limitations. In addition to the region’s latent lack of access to financial and health services, it has been historically affected by climate change, natural disasters, health inequity, and food, energy, and economic insecurity. These factors contribute to a workforce lacking access to education and sufficient income, perpetuating the poverty cycle.

The second iteration of ADAPT: Social Innovation for a More Resilient Future in Latin America will support impact-driven startups developing bold solutions that enable equity, democratize access, and strengthen communities and individuals in the face of climate change, inequality, and other challenges to individual and community wellbeing.

This year’s initiative will focus on supporting 8 to 10 initiatives that are working towards social resilience, prioritizing startups led by or serving women, as well as any founder who has lacked the opportunity to pursue higher education in the past. Village Capital and MetLife Foundation’s goal is to support those who have been marginalized or have had less access to resources to scale.  

Eligibility

Eligible startups must:

• Have legal incorporation and operations as a for-profit entity in at least one Latin American country, with a particular focus on recruiting on countries identified as priorities for MetLife (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico).

• Have a market-based solution that tackles the challenges for financial resilience, disaster preparedness, and health and wellness in Latin America.

• Have one full-time founder and an executive team based in Latin America.

• Be in compliance with local fiscal and business law.

• Have a minimum viable product (MVP) and raised less than $1M in equity.

• Have meaningful customer or business validation (not limited to revenue; it can also be successful pilot studies, number of users, and/or strategic partnerships).