Strategic Advisory
The Challenge Fund for a Just Transition (CFJT)
As a consortium member of the Challenge Fund for a Just Transition (CFJT), New Silk Roads supported CFJT partners through proposal development support, partnership building, and an intensive fundraising coaching programme.
We also developed a corresponding online course, tailored for green sector startups and scaleups, to increase access to non-commercial funding and blended finance. Through our support, these businesses raised €2.5 million in additional funding to pioneer localised green sector solutions in the MENA region.
Coaching Sudanese Scaleups
The Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) supports market-based, scalable approaches to enable over 200,000 young people to access new or better employment opportunities. In Sudan, the CFYE is supporting 249Startups, Alsalam Factory, and IATL International to create job opportunities for young people in their country.
As part of the CFYE’s technical support to its Sudan portfolio, New Silk Roads provided three days of tailored workshops and one-on-one coaching on:
- Operating in fragile and post-conflict markets
- AI-assisted writing tools for grants and applications
- Impact investment, private funders, and blended finance opportunities
DOEN: Impact Investment in Arts and Culture
New Silk Roads conducted a feasibility study for DOEN Ventures for a new impact investment fund for the cultural and creative sector in Europe. Together with 100 Funds, we interviewed over 40 impact investors, artists, and cultural entrepreneurs to discuss the opportunities and challenges for impact investment in arts and culture, specifically in the Netherlands. Subsequently, New Silk Roads is advising DOEN Ventures, Moleskine Foundation, and Opes Impact Fund with setting up the impact investment fund for culture and creativity in Europe, sourcing investible cultural ventures in Europe, and making introductions to potential LPs.
Read the full study here.
Green Growth and Jobs Accelerator Project (GGJAP)
The GGJAP is a four-year regional project focused on accelerating SMEs to grow sustainably and create decent jobs for young people. We provided technical fundraising support to the Flat6Labs accelerator to prepare the $3.5 million tender and secure their first multi-year, regional programme.
As part of the GGJAP consortium, New Silk Roads is also assisting with the accelerator design and positioning, monitoring and evaluation frameworks, and internal team upskilling. Additionally, our team is developing a specialised e-learning curriculum, which features multi-lingual digital courses on business innovation, impact measurement, and access to finance, specifically designed for SMEs in the Arab states region.
GreenWorks
The GreenWorks aimed to create 9000 decent jobs for youth in green and digital sectors in Egypt, Tunisia, and Algeria. As a consortium member, New Silk Roads played several roles, including:
-Developed the theory of change, logframe, and impact monitoring approach for GreenWorks
-Provided fundraising (leverage) services to Hivos and the GreenWorks alliance members to raise an additional 15 million EUR
-Convened a series of multi-stakeholder Futures Labs to activate green and impact-oriented value chains in the MENA region.
Scenario Building and the Future of Impact Investing
Impact Europe is an investing for impact network which mobilises capital and stakeholders to accelerate positive change. Using a futures thinking approach, we engaged Impact Europe and its partners through:
- Facilitating a two-day, internal strategy development to shape the future direction of Impact Europe during its annual all-staff retreat in Brussels
- Working with the Jordan Impact Investment Board (JIIB) to develop an organisational strategy to position Jordan as a regional leader in impact
- Guiding dialogues between Impact Europe and EU representatives to develop policy recommendations around impact investing
- Facilitating knowledge sharing sessions at the Impact in the Neighbourhood conference in Tbilisi, Georgia to foster cross-geography collaboration amongst Impact Europe consortium members from Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
Synergies Study on the Swiss Cooperation Portfolio in Tunisia
New Silk Roads conducted a study on synergies within the Swiss Cooperation programming in Tunisia for 2025–2028. This study examined how portfolio programmes interact across thematic, operational, and institutional dimensions, and how these linkages can be better leveraged both internally and externally.
The study also examined how shared or overlapping geographic areas of intervention can serve as entry points for collaboration and learning, and where co-location of activities may enable joint impact at local or regional level.
EBRD: Scaling Green Startups
Through an EBRD-funded voucher programme, Athar Accelerator in Upper Egypt engaged New Silk Roads to provide direct fundraising and professionalisation services directly to the Athar team. In parallel, our team also delivered tailored fundraising and programme design support for a portfolio of green startups from the Egyptian cities of Alexandria, Assuit, and Sohag.
This support resulted in direct follow on funding, such as for Salahly from Assuit, which raised additional funds from LifeMakers Foundation.
Green Growth Summit
New Silk Roads initiated and launched the Green Growth Summit in Tunis (2024) and Cairo (2024, 2025). A regional learning platform, the Green Growth Summit transformed lessons from early movers in the green economy into actionable insights to localise and accelerate regenerative economies.
Across three editions, the Green Growth Summit convened 600+ green transition frontrunners, facilitated South–South collaboration between entrepreneurs and Africa-focused climate funds, raised awareness on green sector impact investing, and created a donor task force in Tunisia focused on the green economy.
New Silk Roads also raised an additional ~100K EUR in sponsorship to expand the summits’ reach and impact.
Athar Accelerator in Upper Egypt
Athar is an accelerator in Upper Egypt. Since its beginnings as a coworking space, New Silk Roads has worked with Athar to grow into Upper Egypt’s leading startup accelerator. Our team has provided fundraising assistance and trainings to the Athar team, resulting in Athar successfully raising funds from Creativa, Orange Corners, the Drosos Foundation, and the Finnish Embassy in Cairo, among others. As Athar scaled, we offered strategic advising, policy development assistance, and introductions to national and international ecosystem players – especially as Athar specialised in supporting agriculture, energy, and climate startups. We have also directly trained Athar-supported startups on programme design and financial diversification, resulting in follow on funding and geographic expansion.
Strategic Line of Action for CLUA
New Silk Roads developed a strategic foresight report, organised two mini think tanks, and wrote a strategic line of action for just and sustainable technology in tropical forest countries. The assignment included engaging consultants in Indonesia and Costa Rica, conducting interviews with a wide range of climate organisations, environment defenders and digital rights specialists, analysing CLUA's grant portfolio, and involving experts in digital rights and climate justice. In 2026 New Silk Roads also wrote an updated Memo on the latest developments including the role of AI. The outcomes were presented at CLUA's strategic retreat with representatives from member foundations