COVID-19 has put a strain on the systems that sustain livelihoods across Africa: The World Bank estimates that the pandemic will push an additional 30 million people in sub-Saharan African into extreme poverty. The resulting supply chain disruptions and falling incomes have also led to surges in food insecurity. As people are forced to look for food elsewhere, forests, grasslands and other ecosystems are put under increasing pressure.

Hundreds of entrepreneurs in Africa are tackling these challenges through locally led, market-driven green businesses that protect and restore farmland and forests. Restoration businesses balance profitability with social and environmental impact by sequestering carbon, combating desertification, and helping communities adapt to the effects of climate change, while securing local food systems and creating jobs in struggling rural landscapes. Investing in them is key to creating a more sustainable future and will help achieve the goals of the AFR100 Initiative, a pan-African effort to begin restoring 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030.

That’s where the Land Accelerator Africa, led by World Resources Institute (WRI) with support from the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and Fledge, comes in. It is a training and mentorship program for restoration entrepreneurs that aims to build pitching, communication, financial and supply chain management skills, provide networking opportunities and boost companies’ investment readiness.

The accelerator has now worked with 204 entrepreneurs from 34 countries in total, including 100 local businesses from 27 countries for its third cohort in 2021 (details here). Each graduate is receiving a $5,000 innovation grant to help them scale up their businesses. Even prior to the Land Accelerator, this year’s cohort made massive impacts on their communities and the environment. They report that their businesses have restored over 90,000 hectares of land, grown over 11 million trees, and employ over 9,000 people in total.

A selected group of 15 leading entrepreneurs have now benefitted from customized support to improve their business models and understand the realities of the funding landscape from a team of expert mentors. This support is helping kick off the second phase of AFR100, debuted this November at the UNFCCC COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland by African ministers and investors (more information here).

The Impact Day was held on November 18th, 2021 in Nairobi, Kenya. It was a hybrid event with 43 physical attendees, among them investors, entrepreneurs, donors, and other partners. The online meeting had a total of over 250 participants.

The Impact Day was graced by Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Ministry of Environment & Forestry Hon Mohammed Elmi joined by Mamadou Diakhite, AUDA-NEPAD Acting-Head of Environmental Sustainability and the AFR100 Secretariate Manager and World Resource Institute’s Dr. Susan Chomba, Director of Vital landscapes.