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Bonn, 23 February 2023 – Are you young, from Africa and looking to tap into the multibillion-dollar food and agriculture industry opening in Africa? Would you like to receive a USD$5000 grant, three months training from experts and the tools to build a winning investment pitch-deck? Then you may qualify for the 2023 Land Accelerator competition. Apply here by latest 31 March 2023. 

The Land Accelerator targets entrepreneurs who are working to improve a degraded landscape, want to learn fast and raise money for your venture. It is a project of World Resources Institute (WRI), in partnership with AFR100 and the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD).

“The Land Accelerator is an interesting innovation. It is trying out investments that work with and not against nature, which is appealing and in line with the values of children and young people, and increasingly, with those of other consumers,” says Muralee Thummarukudy, Director, G20 Global Land Initiative Coordination Office.

According to WRI, “the Land Accelerator is a training 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.”

One of the objectives of the G20 Global Land Initiative is to promote “integrated, sustainable and resilient land and landscape management through nature-based solutions and ecosystem-based approaches,” with the empowerment of local communities, including youth, as a key avenue. The ambition is to reduce land degradation by 50 per cent by 2040.  

The G20 Implementation Strategy notes that “although many factors determine out-migration [of youth], evidence suggests that land degradation, scarcity of productive land, insufficient rights and leadership opportunities, and the lack of decent employment opportunities in the rural areas for you all play a role.”