Education
Five African nature-based enterprises selected for $10m investment accelerator – EnviroNews
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Five African enterprises promoting nature-positive businesses have been selected for the first cohort of the Nature-First Innovation Lab (NFIL), a 12-month accelerator programme designed to help them attract investment and scale up operations.
The initiative, run by FSD Africa in partnership with Systemiq and the African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA), with support from UK International Development and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), aims to prepare the enterprises to raise a combined $10 million in investment.
The five businesses operate across Ghana, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania, with activities spanning regenerative agriculture, sustainable forestry, natural product processing and the conversion of organic waste into valuable products.
They are Savanna Agri Chains of Ghana, Acacia EPZ of Kenya, Forested, which operates in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, NovFeed of Tanzania, and ForestFoods of Kenya.
According to the organisers, the enterprises share a common business model in which revenue generation depends on maintaining or restoring healthy landscapes, forests and soils.
The programme seeks to address the funding challenges confronting nature-positive businesses that have established commercially viable operations but require additional support to become attractive to investors.
Dorothy Maseke, Head of the ANCA Secretariat and Lead, Nature Finance and TNFD at FSD Africa, said many African enterprises struggle to secure commercial funding despite demonstrating the technical feasibility of their business models.
“A growing number of African enterprises reach technical feasibility and then stall because revenues aren’t sufficiently anchored, governance is not investment-grade, and documentation is incomplete,” she said.
Maseke explained that NFIL was designed to bridge the gap between the funding available through grants and philanthropy and the point at which businesses become ready to attract commercial capital.
She said the selected enterprises were already established and generating revenue but required additional support to become investment-ready.
Under the programme, each enterprise will receive grants and technical assistance in financial planning, corporate governance and the measurement of nature-related impacts, alongside introductions to potential investors.
The accelerator will not take equity in the participating businesses but will help them reach the stage where investors can assess their operations and make informed funding decisions.
One of the selected enterprises, Savanna Agri Chains, sources and exports shea butter and baobab from Northern Ghana while supporting land restoration and the livelihoods of rural women.
Founded in 2016 and led by Julius Awaregya, the company is based in Paga and works with more than 1,000 women harvesters across 22 districts in Northern Ghana.
Its shea butter and baobab products serve the skincare and food industries, with certifications from EcoCert enabling it to export organic products to Europe and the Americas. Its Regenified certification also recognises its land-restoration practices, including natural composting and improved water use.
Savanna Agri Chains doubled its revenue between 2023 and 2025 and plans to expand its operations to 40 districts in Ghana and the Central South Region of Burkina Faso.
The company also intends to increase its network of collectors and aggregators from 2,800 to 7,000.
Through NFIL, Savanna will receive support to strengthen its financial management, formalise its governance structures and prepare to raise the capital required to centralise operations and upgrade processing equipment.
The planned investments are expected to help the company capture more value locally while expanding its market reach and supporting the women involved in its supply chain.
The other participating businesses bring different approaches to nature-positive enterprise development.
Acacia EPZ, a Kenyan exporter of gum arabic, provides an alternative source of supply amid disruptions linked to conflict in Sudan.
Forested works with smallholder farmers in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda to supply regenerative honey, beeswax, shea butter and oils to international beauty brands.
NovFeed, based in Tanzania, converts organic waste into fish feed and fertiliser, offering a commercial approach to waste recovery and resource efficiency.
ForestFoods, a Kenyan enterprise, applies a Brazilian agroforestry method as part of its nature-based business model.
The selection comes amid growing recognition of Africa’s economic dependence on natural resources and the need to mobilise investment for businesses that protect and restore ecosystems.
Research by FSD Africa and McKinsey Sustainability estimates that approximately 62 per cent of Africa’s gross domestic product depends on nature, underscoring the economic importance of healthy ecosystems to the continent’s development.
However, enterprises that integrate biodiversity conservation, land restoration and sustainable resource management into their business models often face difficulties securing the financing needed to expand.
The NFIL’s first cohort focuses on regenerative supply chains, an area with significant potential to generate commercial returns while improving the health of landscapes and supporting local livelihoods.
A 2025 estimate by Boston Consulting Group puts the investment opportunity associated with regenerating the world’s 30 most valuable landscapes at $310 billion for commercial investors.
By helping established enterprises strengthen their financial structures, governance and impact measurement, the accelerator aims to improve their prospects of attracting capital and expanding nature-positive business models across Africa.
