The Demo Day brought together the top 16 entrepreneurs from this year’s Land Accelerator cohort, investors, leaders of partner organizations, and government officials. Watch the live recording of the top innovative entrepreneurs out of 1,420 applicants pitching their businesses:
Meet the cohort here and join the conversation on social media with @restoreforward.
Background:
Today, we are facing a global crisis. 33% of the world’s agricultural lands are severely damaged, 48% of forest cover is depleted, and 1/3 of the global population feels these impacts. In Africa, millions of hectares are degraded annually. Yet the environmental, social, and economic benefits of restoring Africa’s forests, farmlands, and pastures are enormous, generating returns up to $30 for every $1 invested. This is a wake-up call for all actors, especially entrepreneurs, who are changing the script by developing innovative ideas and sustainable practices that restore land. However, it is still a major challenge to access investment and scale their restoration practices.
The Land Accelerator program, held by World Resources Institute in collaboration with AUDA-NEPAD and Fledge and with the support of the Swedish Development Agency, is committed to supporting these restoration entrepreneurs. In the last three years, the program has supported over 100 of these innovators. This year, the Land Accelerator is working closely with 78 entrepreneurs who have benefited from this intensive training and mentorship program to help them create additional jobs as well as restore more hectares of land. To conclude this year’s program, we will host an in-person Impact Days in Kigali, Rwanda from 17-21 October, which will culminate in a hybrid Demo Day on October 20th, where the top entrepreneurs will pitch their businesses to investors.
For any clarifications needed, please feel free to reach out to Mr. Samuel Kabiru, Manager, Land Accelerator Africa at Samuel.kabiru@wri.org.