Read about the cultivating native plants of western Brazil and their struggles with climate change
Read about the cultivating native plants of western Brazil and their struggles with climate change
Read about the cultivating native plants of western Brazil and their struggles with climate change
APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN!
Open Call for New Generation Design leaders shaping a Circular Future! Submit your application to the What Design Can Do Accelerator 2025 by 31 March for an opportunity to join our global network of innovators.
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
We are on a mission to find the world’s most creative climate solutions. Specifically, the WDCD Accelerator is here to support designers and creative entrepreneurs in shaping and building a circular future. We begin this journey with a worldwide open call, followed by an in-person Sprint Week in Amsterdam and an online programme offering training, mentorship and publicity to help selected innovators thrive.
If you are a designer or creative entrepreneur working on a climate solution that shakes up the status quo — whether it’s a product, material, story, system, service or space — then this call is for you!
WHO CAN APPLY?
This call is open to all designers and creative entrepreneurs from around the globe. At the end of the open call, a minimum of 10 winning teams will be selected according to four key criteria: impact, design and creativity, feasibility and scalability, and the strength of your team and network. To learn more about the kinds of ideas that we invest in, see our application guidebook.
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● DESIGN-DRIVEN INNOVATIONS
We believe in the power of design to envision and create a future we actually want to live in. Because of this, we’re excited by solutions that embrace circular and regenerative design principles and that utilise design mentality and methodologies as a force for good.
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● SOLUTIONS IN DIFFERENT STAGES
Our programme is ready to meet applicants where they are in the development of their solutions. When making your application, simply tell us which stage best describes your project:
-Idea Stage: Projects in this stage display a compelling vision and a convincing visualisation but only a rough proof of concept. There are at least two initiators, but possibly not the well-balanced team needed to bring the idea to the next stage.
-Early Stage: Projects and initiatives with a core team, a compelling long-term vision and a convincing proof of concept. Your focus is on developing a high-quality product, service or programme and building a solid business case.
-Mature Stage: Projects and initiatives with an existing social or creative enterprise. Your focus is on sustainable growth: expanding market or public adoption, strengthening your organisation, securing funds and increasing impact.
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● NEW OR EXISTING SOLUTIONS
You can apply with a completely new idea or a solution existing with an established business.
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● NO INDUSTRY AND DISCIPLINE LIMIT
As long as design is a clear differentiator in your process, we are open to solutions from diverse industries and disciplines. This includes food, fashion, packaging, consumer goods, education, urban design and media, as well as materials, products, systems, services, spaces, communications, technologies and collaborative or interdisciplinary projects.
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● LEGAL ENTITY OR NOT
For example, but not limited to companies, non-profits, collectives, studios, communities, startups.
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● APPLICATION FEE
For all applicants except students, we charge a €50 application fee to help us carefully review every submission and ensure each idea gets the attention it deserves. This contribution also helps to sustain the impact of the Accelerator programme. Students can apply for free using the discount code “WDCD-Student”.
WHY JOIN?
Over the years, we’ve empowered thousands of creative entrepreneurs to turn their ideas into impact-driven businesses and accelerate their existing solutions to the next level, in collaboration with partners in Kenya, Tokyo, Mexico, India, Hong Kong, Istanbul and Brazil to address urgent local issues. Over the last 7 years, resulting in over 4.000+ submissions, 77 design teams receiving dedicated support, worldwide visibility of urgent themes to a 10M+ audience and measurable impact in pollutive industries.
WHAT CAN I WIN?
SPRINT WEEK IN AMSTERDAM
SEED GRANT
6 WEEKS ONLINE PROGRAM
1-ON-1 MENTORSHIP
Present on main stage in Amsterdam, Mexico or Delhi
Opportunity to get exclusive support from SECRID
Win €7,777 Secrid Talent Award and join Dutch Design Week
Joining the WDCD’s global design community
MEET THE JURY
WHY DESIGN, WHY DESIGNERS?
We are living in a time of climate crisis,but scientists say there’s still a window for action. A better future demands a shift to a fair and circular society, where resources are reused, waste is minimised, and nature is restored. To make this transition, we need to radically redesign the world we live in, from the products we use every day, to the values that feed our economies.
No sector can do this alone — but designers can clear a path by shifting from linear to circular ways of making, using and living. At WDCD, we support the designers taking accountability for design’s role as part of the problem, looking at how we can make better with less, until every industry is more sustainable, equitable and resilient than the last.
TIMELINE
Open Call
4 February – 31 March
Creatives everywhere are invited to submit their ideas through the Accelerator platform.
Nominate
March - April
WDCD team and our international advisors decide on a shortlist of nominees.
Triumph
April – May
Our international jury decides on at least 10 winners from around the world.
Sprint
June
Winning teams meet in Amsterdam for a week-long design sprint and pitch their solution at the WDCD Live event.
Accelerate
June - July
Winning teams enter a dedicated mentorship programme to strengthen and scale their impact.
Our partners
