Visa Foundation: CatalyseHer

Overview

Overview

• Duration - 2-month training, with 10-15 hours online total required to complete the program
• Eligibility - Women founders, co-founders, or CEOs of businesses based in the UK (registered on Company House or HMRC registered)
• Business Stage - Under 5 years old, with less than £2M revenue
• Location - Remote, across the UK
• Key Dates - Applications close: Sunday 7th September 2025
• Training starts: - Wednesday 17th September 2025

What is CatalyseHer

CatalyseHer is a three-year initiative to support and empower women-led small businesses (SMBs) through a comprehensive training, community building and micro-grant programme.

In partnership with INCO, a leading social enterprise company, the programme aims to deliver impactful financial and business support to 500 UK based female founders to address the gender financing gap facing women entrepreneurs in the UK.

Women entrepreneurs still face barriers when it comes to access to the investments and resources that support innovation, with women founded businesses in the UK receiving only a 2% share of total venture capital investments according to the British Business Bank[1]. The Visa Foundation initiative aims to help close this gap by providing women entrepreneurs with the skills and resources they need to further grow their business and unlock new opportunities.

The programme will support early-stage, revenue-generating, small companies with an interest in social and environmental impact and builds on Visa Foundation’s existing $20 (£16) million commitments that have helped support roughly 8,500 small businesses in the UK.

What's on offer

• Self-paced learning modules and templates
• Expert-led sessions
• Peer learning sessions
• Access to a founder community and INCO’s alumni network
• Opportunity to pitch for micro grants 

Eligibility

• Women founders, co-founders, CEOs
• UK-registered businesses and HMRC sole traders
• Businesses under 5 years 
• Less than £2M revenue

They welcome businesses from all sectors and industries, with particular interest in those who are digitally-enabled and have a social and environmental impact.

Definition of 'business with an interest in social and environmental impact':

Many early stage businesses are still refining their business and impact model, therefore, they will consider all participants who have an intention to create positive social and environmental impact through the operation of their business, whether they have already started that journey or are still figuring out the details. 

How does it work

This a free programme to enter and women founders, co-founders, or CEOs of businesses based in the UK (registered on Company House or HMRC registered) can access all tracks, resources, and pitch for micro-grants. 

The scheme has now expanded to the Republic of Ireland.

1. Eligible candidates choose between two tracks for this cohort: 

• Fundamentals track: Perfect for early-stage founders
  • For businesses with revenue under £50k wanting to refine their business model.  This track is designed for founders who are in the early stages of building their business and are now asking: “How can I develop a clear, customer-focused business model that’s ready to grow?”
    • Business model canvas
    • Value proposition development
    • Customer identification
    • Revenue modeling
• Impact Track: For those ready to scale their social impact
  • For early-stage businesses ready to embed sustainability and impact into their strategy and storytelling. This track is designed for founders who are beyond the initial idea stage and are now asking: "How can I strategically integrate sustainability and impact into my business?"
    • Impact model identification
    • Impact storytelling
    • Measurement framework

More track options for future cohorts will be launched. The following is opening soon:

• Level Up: Investment
  • For pre-seed businesses ready to take on investment:
    • Funding strategy
    • Investment options
    • Pitch deck development

2. After applying

Once you complete your application:

1. You'll receive an immediate confirmation of application email with your program details
2. If accepted, you will receive an email with access to their learning platform & their WhatsApp community Catalyse Circles.
3. You can begin exploring the platform and preparing for your September start date
4. Your personalised dashboard will show your selected track(s) and upcoming modules
5. Finally they’ll send access to their community space where you can meet fellow participants and join their community.

Choose your own focus area - Choose a learning track most relevant to your business needs. Their practical modules include worksheets, templates, and action plans that translate directly into your business.

The program takes approximately 10-15 hours to complete over a 2-month period through a combination of self-paced learning and live sessions. All sessions are delivered online, allowing for you to participate from anywhere in the UK and Ireland. 

3. Microgrants

At the end of each cohort, they will host an online pitch competition where participants will submit a short video about their business to compete for microgrants of £5,000. 

• You will have the opportunity to showcase your business in the competition for a chance to win cash microgrants of £5,000. 
• They will also provide a pitch training session so you can learn to confidently communicate your business impact.
• The grant must be used operationally to support the business to grow and cannot be used towards staff wages. 
• They will also be running a larger-scale enterprise competition with bigger grants that participants from any cohort can participate in at a later date.