Land Accelerator South Asia

The World Resources Institute (WRI) introduced the LandAccelerator Africa in 2018, the world's pioneer training program targeting businesses focused on restoring degraded forests, farmlands, and pastures. Globally, this initiative facilitated the planting of approximately 22 million trees, restoring 207,000 hectares of land, generating 13,000 jobs, and aiding 1.2 million farmers across 46 countries. In 2020, WRI launched the Land Accelerator South Asia, an unprecedented effort to invigorate entrepreneurship, bolster local livelihoods, and conserve South Asian forests and farmlands. Through a distinctive accelerator curriculum, the program empowers leaders to create viable, sustainable models for land restoration. It forges a global network of mentors, experts, and entrepreneurs to support restoration-focused businesses in developing sustainable strategies. Applicants undergo a rigorous screening process, evaluating the innovation, scalability, and profitability of their restoration models, with environmental and socio-economic impacts as key criteria. The program customizes mentorship for each entrepreneur, with a special focus on empowering women entrepreneurs. Land Accelerator South Asia emphasizes linking restoration enterprises with impact investors through Demo Days, where top entrepreneurs pitch their ventures. The program aids entrepreneurs in measuring environmental and social impact, aligning business goals with climate commitments, and following a 'PPP approach'—integrating people, the planet, and profit—to restore ecosystems. By fostering resilient businesses and sustainable land management, the initiative uplifts marginalized communities and promotes lasting socio-economic benefits.