The attending startups, who form the programme’s core cohort and are based across Europe, UK, and the US, are creating solutions at the intersection of sustainability and social impact – from using AI and data to advance the regenerative agriculture movement to enabling supermarkets to guide consumers looking to make more sustainable choices in their daily shopping.

Each participating startup pitched its product and business model to the Summit attendees – notably, each business was carefully assessed by its peers, who then voted to select the winners of two $50,000 grants and two $25,000 grants. A surprise award of two $10,000 grants was also made by Sage Foundation to two additional businesses that were chosen by the audience. All startups were assessed on key investment criteria including team, product, value proposition, market, and scale. 

The grant winners are: 

• Mi Terro (Los Angeles, California) which leverages big data to create compostable, fossil-fuel alternative biomaterials made from plant-based agricultural waste
• Cellsense (Somerville, Massachusetts) transforms algae and cellulose into compostable beads to offer a sustainable alternative to the use of microplastics across the design and cosmetic industries
• Witching Hour (Knoxville, Tennessee) helps power companies prevent wildfires using a robotic system to install advanced materials over existing power lines
• Supercycle (York, UK) uses SaaS technology to integrate circular models, such as rental, product-as-a-service, and resale, directly within Shopify
• Climate-i (Falmouth, UK) offers solutions that help electricity companies detect leaks and mitigate SF6 emissions, the world’s most potent greenhouse gas
• Future Greens (Sheffield, UK) generates on-site renewable electricity from waste to help food and beverage manufacturers reduce costs and emissions

Jess Evans, R&D Manager at Mi Terro said: “It’s an incredible honour to be recognised by our peers – fellow innovators who share our drive for meaningful change. Thank you to Sage and Village Capital for creating a space where mission-led businesses like ours can speak up. This grant will help us scale production and increase market reach.”

Aradhita Parasrampuria, Founder and CEO at Cellsense, said: “We’re thrilled to receive this support, and we’re putting it to work right away. With this funding, we’ll invest in equipment that'll increase our production capacity by 14 times – a transformative leap that brings us closer to making circular solutions accessible at scale.”

Lance Adler, Co-Founders and CEO at Witching Hour, said: “We were thrilled by the response from the Summit’s audience – it’s clear that our mission to help companies prevent wildfires through our power line insulation-as-a-service truly resonates. This kind of support reinforces the urgency and relevance of what we’re building.” 

Ryan Atkins, Co-Founder and CEO at Supercycle, said: “The belief of our peers in our mission affirms that growth doesn’t have to mean making more things, but making better choices. We’ll use learnings and capital from this program to keep building a future rooted in a complete circular cycle – one where impact matters more than output.”

Elinor Wakefield, Co-Founder and CEO at Climate.i, said: “We are grateful for our peers’ support and belief in our mission. This funding represents not just financial backing, but a strong vote of confidence in our vision to help companies address harmful leaks.”

Gabrielė Barteškaitė, Co-Founder and COO at Future Greens, said: “This programme has already helped us connect with two important partners. We’re honoured to be selected to receive this grant by the audience and see how strongly our mission – to generate on-site renewable electricity – resonated with the Summit’s audience.”

Helen Devanny, Vice President of Sage Foundation, said: “This Summit – and the grant awards – are a great way to help our programme’s first cohort graduate. We’ve been able to use Sage’s skills, resources, and product to help these purpose-driven entrepreneurs scale their businesses, and have learned so much in return what it takes for a purpose-driven small business to thrive in today’s landscape. We will continue our impact over the next two years when we’ll be supporting an additional 100+ businesses the same way.”

Allie Burns, CEO of Village Capital, said: “Partnering with Sage has been a powerful alignment of purpose and expertise. Sage’s commitment to social impact, combined with Village Capital’s experience supporting early-stage entrepreneurs, has created a programme that truly meets founders where they are – providing the capital, mentorship, and visibility they need to grow sustainably. The in-person summit in Atlanta has been a standout moment, enabling founders to create community and celebrate their progress – a true reflection of what this partnership makes possible.”

The support for the attending businesses continues – as part of the programme, Sage and Village Capital will provide ongoing mentorship and assistance for two more years to ensure these businesses achieve the scale and growth they need to make real impact within their communities.

For more startup news, check out the other articles on the website, and subscribe to the magazine for free. Listen to The Cereal Entrepreneur podcast for more interviews with entrepreneurs and big-hitters in the startup ecosystem.