Timezones: 10:00 AM EST | 3:00 PM GMT | 4:00 PM WAT | 5:00 PM CAT

Money can grow on trees.  

Some of the fastest-growing small businesses in Africa make money restoring degraded land. They nurture trees and encourage smallholder farmers to grow food sustainably and productively.   This is a significant investment opportunity: Just $1 invested in land restoration can lead to $7 to $30 in economic benefits. But little investment reaches these ambitious entrepreneurs. When it does, it’s often in the form of small grants that build little investor trust, or predatory loans with annual interest rates of more than 20%. 

Now, there are new ways to invest in these businesses – to resource land restoration champions and close the legendary “missing middle” funding gap. 

The Land Accelerator has trained more than 200 of Africa’s leading restorative businesses; TerraFund for AFR100 has issued low-interest loans of $50,000 to $500,000; and Africa Eats has created a holding company to build the long-term value of sustainable agriculture businesses. 

It’s time to shed light on these innovations and hear directly from entrepreneurs and investors – and the challenges that they have faced in making land restoration a viable economic sector. 

Join World Resources Institute, Realize Impact, and Barka Fund for this exciting webinar about building a sustainable financial future for the continent’s most inspiring innovators. 

This webinar will be in English with live interpretation offered in French. 

Speakers:

  • Rekia Foudel, Managing Partner & Founder, Barka Fund [Moderator] 
  • Frannie Léautier, Senior Partner & CEO, SouthBridge Investments 
  • Jane Maigua, Managing Director, Exotic EPZ
  • Luni Libes, CEO, Africa Eats & Executive Chairman, Realize Impact 
  • Venkat Iyer, Senior Manager, Restoration Finance, World Resources Institute 
  • Samuel Kabiru, Manager, Land Accelerator Africa, World Resources Institute 
  • Will Anderson, Manager, Land Restoration Projects, World Resources Institute

 

Cover image by ICRAF