Demo Day for the Land Accelerator

If you're an investor in the forestry or agriculture sector in Africa, this event is a must. The World Resources Institute (WRI) and Fledge have partnered to create the Land Accelerator, a 4-day intense program to train and mentor African entrepreneurs focused on restoring degraded land. The 12 selected entrepreneurs have been chosen from almost 250 applications. At this Demo Day, the entrepreneurs will make brief pitches about their companies and will be available to answer questions from investors.

Lunch starts at noon with the program starting at 12:30 pm sharp. There is no fee thanks to the generous support of the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the US State Department.

Here are the startups:

1. Akili provides the mentoring, tools, funding and assistance to farmers in rural Kenya, with a goal of serving 800,000 farmers in the next three years.

2. Aoulaye Sesame specializes in the production and marketing of white sesame in Niger, growing on 100 hectares that were restored and working on the next 150 hectares of reclamation.

3. Asili Natural Oils produces natural cosmetic ingredients for customers around the world, using plants grown by over 2,000 Rwandan smallholder farmers.

4. Chabana Farms produces animal feed in Botswana, a country that exports beef but which today imports nearly all its animal feed.

5. Eden Field Agri-Seed Enterprise supplies seeds for edible grasses and legumes, shrubs, and trees, specific to each bio region in Ethiopia.

6. Green Pot Enterprises is Kenya’s first fully integrated bamboo company, with operations ranging from large-scale nurseries to establishment of a distributed network of bamboo plantations.

7. Kete-Krachi Farms grows and processes cashew nuts from 78,000 on their 500 hectares, plus another 1 million trees from other farmers in Ghana.

8. Lentera manufactures a range of organic and mineral fertilizers in Kenya that increase yield, enhance drought tolerance and facilitate restoration of depleted soils and farm lands.

9. Moringa Miracles produces moringa leaf powder, seed and seed oil in Malawi for sale on the international wholesale market.

10. Norelga Macadamia brought the macadamia nut as a crop to Rwanda in 2010, serving both the domestic market as well as exporting into the global market.

11. SA Bamboo Works manufactures sustainable bamboo products in Ethiopia since 2012, including flooring and ceiling tiles, laminated furniture, and other bamboo stick based products.

12. Safi Organics uses technology to decentralize and downsize fertilizer production, making it possible for rural villages in Kenya to use their own locally available resources, labor, and waste.