The Land Accelerator

What The Land Accelerator does

The Land Accelerator is a curated network and accelerator program for entrepreneurs who restore degraded forests and farmland. It operates as a sub-initiative of the World Resources Institute's (WRI) Global Restoration Initiative and runs three regional programs spanning Africa, Latin America, and South Asia, with the Africa program specifically aligned to the AFR100 (African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative) goal of restoring 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030. The program delivers online and in-person boot camps combined with personalized mentorship to help participating entrepreneurs pitch impact investors and sell restoration-derived products more effectively, targeting pain points around capital access and technical expertise in rural areas.

The program has no proprietary technology platform; its core product is the cohort-based accelerator experience and the curated network of entrepreneurs, mentors, and impact investors. Reported program outcomes include 450 entrepreneurs supported across 51 countries, 11,501 jobs created, 474,106 farmers engaged in restoration value chains, over 30 million trees growing, and 620,800 hectares under restoration. Distribution is hybrid: direct engagement through WRI's regional staff (e.g., Samuel Kabiru in Africa, Fabiana Chamis for cross-region coordination), supported by WRI digital platforms, events such as UNCCD COP16, and a public "Our Companies" directory showcasing alumni.

The business model is non-commercial: participation is free to entrepreneurs, and the program is funded through WRI's institutional donor base and partnerships. There is no disclosed pricing, no per-seat fees, and no independent revenue figure. The program is governed within WRI's Global Restoration Initiative under Director Sean DeWitt, with adjacent initiatives such as TerraFund extending restoration finance capabilities. The Land Accelerator is therefore best characterized as a philanthropic, capacity-building program rather than a revenue-generating business.

Name

The Land Accelerator

Legal name

The Land Accelerator (program under World Resources Institute)

Website

https://thelandaccelerator.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The Land Accelerator is a nonprofit accelerator program under the World Resources Institute that supports entrepreneurs restoring degraded forests and farmland across Africa, Latin America, and South Asia through boot camps, mentorship, and impact investor connections.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Environmental Restoration Accelerator Program

NAICS

Support Activities for Forestry (115310), Support Activities for Forestry (11531), Support Activities for Forestry (1153)

SIC

Forestry (800), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Forestry & Reforestation (BPAGAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Afforestation, Reforestation & Revegetation (ARR) (EUABABAA), Agroforestry & Perennial Cropping Systems (EUABABAD), Monitoring, Survival Surveys & Carbon/MRV Services (Remote Sensing, Field Audits) (AFAMACAO), Reforestation & Afforestation Services (Planting, Site Prep, Regeneration) (IMAMAAAE)

Keywords

• Landscape restoration accelerator
• Entrepreneurship mentorship program
• Impact investor readiness
• Forest restoration training
• Regenerative agriculture accelerator

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Non-Profit Grant Funded Program: The Land Accelerator is a program under the World Resources Institute (WRI), a non-profit research organization. It operates as a grant-funded accelerator program that provides free services to entrepreneurs, including boot camps, mentorship, and network access. The program does not generate commercial revenue but is funded through WRI's donor base and partnerships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Land Accelerator is a curated network and accelerator program for entrepreneurs restoring degraded forests and farmland. It delivers online and in-person boot camps, personalized mentorship, and connections to impact investors, with dedicated regional cohorts in Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. The program is offered free to participants and is funded through the World Resources Institute's donor base and partnerships, including alignment with the AFR100 initiative in Africa.

Product overview

The Land Accelerator is a single unified accelerator program consisting of regional initiatives in Africa, Latin America, and South Asia. The core offering combines online and in-person boot camps with personalized mentorship to help restoration entrepreneurs pitch impact investors and sell their products more effectively. The program operates as a curated network connecting entrepreneurs with business and investment opportunities, supported by a publicly accessible companies directory showcasing program alumni.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Land Accelerator Program A curated accelerator program for entrepreneurs restoring degraded forests and farmland, providing online and in-person boot camps, personalized mentorship, and connections to impact investors. Offered free of charge through WRI.
• Land Accelerator Africa Regional accelerator cohort under The Land Accelerator serving African entrepreneurs restoring degraded forests and farmland, contributing to the AFR100 initiative.
• Land Accelerator Latin America Regional accelerator cohort under The Land Accelerator supporting entrepreneurs restoring farms and forests across Latin American countries including Peru and Ecuador.
• Land Accelerator South Asia Regional accelerator cohort under The Land Accelerator supporting entrepreneurs in South Asia who are restoring degraded forests and agricultural lands.
• Our Companies Directory A publicly accessible online directory showcasing companies that have participated in The Land Accelerator programs, profiling restoration entrepreneurs and their business models.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11,501 jobs created
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AFR100 (African Forest Landscape Restoration Initiative)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Land Accelerator's Africa program contributes to AFR100, a country-led effort to bring 100 million hectares of degraded land in Africa into restoration by 2030. This partnership connects Land Accelerator entrepreneurs to the broader AFR100 network and restoration goals.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Acumen: Acumen runs a global network of impact accelerators for social entrepreneurs in Africa, Latin America, and South Asia, providing mentorship and patient capital to underserved founders — directly analogous to The Land Accelerator's model and target geographies.
• Ashoka: Ashoka operates the world's largest network of social entrepreneurs with fellowship, mentorship, and ecosystem-building programs in developing regions — a comparable model for surfacing and supporting mission-driven founders in Africa, Latin America, and South Asia.
• Echoing Green: Echoing Green runs a fellowship and accelerator for emerging social entrepreneurs globally, providing seed funding, mentorship, and a peer community — closely comparable to the boot-camp-plus-mentorship structure of The Land Accelerator.
• Halcyon: Halcyon runs residential accelerators for climate and social-impact founders, providing mentorship, networks, and follow-on capital — highly analogous cohort-based, mentorship-driven structure for impact entrepreneurs.
• Village Capital: Village Capital runs peer-selected impact accelerators for early-stage ventures in agriculture, energy, and environment, including programs in emerging markets — directly comparable cohort model targeting impact-driven SMBs.
• Elemental Excelerator: Elemental Excelerator is a non-dilutive accelerator for climate-focused startups, providing mentorship, pilots, and investor introductions in the same way The Land Accelerator does for restoration entrepreneurs — a direct functional peer in the climate-incubator category.
• EIT Climate-KIC: EIT Climate-KIC runs accelerators and innovation programs for climate-focused entrepreneurs across multiple geographies — a comparable model for scaling climate-restoration and land-use ventures through structured cohorts.

Broad incumbents

• Conservation International: Conservation International operates landscape restoration initiatives across Africa, Latin America, and South Asia, often co-creating and supporting restoration ventures — overlapping mission and geographic footprint as a much larger environmental NGO incumbent.
• The Nature Conservancy: The Nature Conservancy runs large-scale forest and landscape restoration programs across Africa, Latin America, and Asia, often in partnership with entrepreneurs — a broad incumbent with overlapping restoration mission and target regions.

Emerging players

• Greentown Labs: Greentown Labs is the largest climatotech incubator in North America, providing prototyping, mentorship, and investor access to climate startups — comparable format but with a more tech-oriented and developed-market focus than The Land Accelerator.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/worldresources
• YouTubeyoutube.com/WorldResourcesInst
• Facebookfacebook.com/worldresources
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/world-resources-institute
• Instagraminstagram.com/worldresources

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Land Accelerator