Launching this fall, the Southwest Florida Accelerator will focus on climate resilience and sustainability
BABCOCK RANCH, Fla. (July 14, 2026) – As part of Ambition Accelerated, a statewide effort to build the next generation of American companies in Florida, Babcock Ranch – America’s first solar-powered town – will serve as the anchor for the Southwest Florida Resilience Accelerator. The Southwest Florida Resilience Accelerator will host its inaugural cohort this fall focused on companies looking to develop technologies and solutions for climate resilience through innovations in infrastructure, sustainable construction, and more.
Launched by the Florida Council of 100 and its Foundation, Ambition Accelerated is a strategic business-led initiative designed to fuel and sustain Florida’s economy. Focused on high-growth industries, the program connects CEOs, founders, investors, universities, and corporate partners to help enterprise-ready companies build and scale in the sunshine state.
As a nationally recognized leader in sustainability and climate-resilient development, Babcock Ranch is a living laboratory where innovators collaborate to pilot, test, and scale solutions for the future. The community provides the ideal real-world environment to scale concepts within a wider region uniquely positioned to lead the nation in resilience innovation.
To help build disaster resilient communities, the Southwest Florida Resilience Accelerator is focused on entrepreneurs building solutions tailored to four key areas:
• Natural Systems Modeling: Technologies addressing water, flood, wind, habitat, ecology, fire, coastal, estuary, riverine challenges, etc.
• Inspections, Assessment and Certification: Innovators utilizing drone inspection and AI modeling, or tackling construction performance, building and site inspections, and resilient program construction validation certifications
• Resilient Real Estate and Infrastructure Systems: Infrastructure advances in building hardening, water systems, mobility, leak detection and shut off, pervious pavements, energy storage, off site construction, industrialized housing, and building materials
• Purpose-Built Planning and Design: Solutions for permitting, asset risk analysis, lifecycle cost modeling, insurance-linked resilience tools, and building and infrastructure operations efficiency tools
“Anchoring the new Southwest Florida Resilience Accelerator at Babcock Ranch underscores our vision to be the most sustainable, innovative, and resilient town in America,” said Lucienne Pears, Vice President of Economic and Business Development for Kitston & Partners, developer of Babcock Ranch. “By welcoming pioneers from across the globe into our sandbox to scale concepts in real-time, we are convening the capital, resources, and like-minded people needed to cultivate long-term economic growth in Southwest Florida.”
Southwest Florida is rapidly expanding, with a five-year GDP growth rate of over 55% and a resilience sector GDP growth rate of 41.9% over the past 5 years. Currently ranked the third-fastest growing town in Florida, Babcock Ranch is evolving into a business hub for Southwest Florida and is expanding its commercial footprint to drive regional economic development with new Class-A office, flex, industrial, and retail spaces for forward-thinking businesses.
Ten selected founders will partake in an eight-week cohort of hybrid programming with access to invaluable resources needed to turn ideas into opportunities:
• Mentorship: Direct connection to industry-leading executives in resiliency and sustainability
• Strategic Partnerships: Collaborate with experienced enterprises to pilot and scale
• Accelerated Market Entry: Introduction to Florida’s thriving ecosystem for business growth
• Investor Connections: Exposure to Florida’s vast investor community
Applications for the Southwest Florida Resilience Accelerator are open through August 21. Deliberation and selection will take place through mid-September, with the cohort announced toward the end of September. The program will officially start October 13 and run through December.
To learn more about the Southwest Florida Resilience Accelerator at Babcock Ranch or apply, visit https://ambitionaccelerated.com/southwest.
