Caroline Kariuki (left) in her bamboo nursery in Nyeri, Kenya. Photo: Will Anderson/WRI We are excited to announce the partnership between World Resources Institute’s Land Accelerator and the Mitsubishi Corporation Fund for Europe and Africa (MCFEA). Through a first-of-its-kind training program, the Land Accelerator identifies, empowers, and invests in African entrepreneurs who take a commercial...

The Land Accelerator is an exciting program and curated network for entrepreneurs who restore degraded forests and farmland. It is anchored by an intensive week-long workshop when the cohort meets in person. There is no fee to join, and the program does not take equity.
Deadline:
March 31, 2021
Deadline:
October 1, 2021
Deadline:
March 31, 2021
The Land Accelerator has been held twice in Africa and will return to Nairobi for the third time in mid- 2021. We are launching our second cohort for South Asia also in mid-2021. Our first cohort in Latin America is currently active from December 2020-April 2021.
Featured resources

Tops tips and information for applying from the Land Accelerator launch in Delhi

Check the recording from our webinar on financing to learn strategies to get investment for your business.
Check out the 3-minute video below for more details about the Land Accelerator.
Are you an entrepreneur who’s interested in joining? If you are working to improve a degraded landscape – and you want to learn fast and raise money for your venture – then this is the right program for you. Applications are currently open for entrepreneurs from Africa and South Asia.
The Land Accelerator’s second African cohort met from September 7-12, 2019, in Nairobi, Kenya. The 14 startups were chosen from 335 applicants and represent 8 African countries. Each received a EUR 3,000 grant in addition to a travel stipend.
Over 100 investors and members of Nairobi’s start-up community joined us at the Demo Day on Sep 12, 2019 to meet the entrepreneurs. Missed it? No problem! The full video is below.
These are some highlights from the 2018 cohort in Africa:
- Kalahari Honey pivoted to a new focus. It has since secured two large orders and raised $100,000.
- Lentera secured a $50,000 loan and won a $10,000 cash prize based on its improved pitch.
- SA Bamboo has transformed how it works with hundreds of farmers by organizing them into cooperatives.
- Safi Organics received $55,000 in grants and is expanding to serve an additional 1,000 smallholder farmers.
The Accelerator contributes to efforts to restore hundreds of millions of hectares of land through the African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative (AFR100), Initiative 20×20 in Latin America, and the Bonn Challenge. There is no fee for the program thanks to the generous support of the IKEA Foundation, the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the DOEN Foundation.
If you are interested in becoming a mentor for the Land Accelerator in 2020, please visit our Mentorship Program page for more details and to sign up.
Questions or comments? Reach out to Sofia Faruqi or Amanda Gant.