The Biodiversity Finance Accelerator Southern Africa mobilises investments for biodversity-positive enterprises and organisations in Malawi and Zambia and helps entrepreneurs scale their business operations. The programme is implemented by adelphi, in joint cooperation with the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Malawi) and the Women's Entrepreneurship Access Centre (Zambia).
“Both countries’ national biodiversity strategies envisage strong private sector participation and mobilisation of private investment to halt the ongoing decline of biodiversity. Market-based and innovative solutions from micro, small and medium-sized enterprises have significant potential to contribute to biodiversity conservation,” says Julia Rohe-Frydrych, Senior Manager and Acting Co-Lead of the Green Entrepreneurship programme at adelphi.
Biodiversity-positive enterprises
The programme is designed for biodiversity-positive enterprises based in Malawi and Zambia. Biodiversity-positive enterprises are actors that contribute to the conservation, restoration or management of nature and ecosystems through market-driven business models. These business models usually revolve around sustainable agriculture, eco-tourism, reforestation, invasive species management, provision of resource alternatives (e.g. from wood-based charcoal) or biodiversity-based products (e.g. honey).
Check out the 2019 SEED Low Carbon Award Winner Green Honey from Ghana for a strong example of a biodiversity-positive MSME.
What awaits you as a participant of the Biodiversity Finance Accelerator
If you are selected as one of the 30 participating enterprises in the acceleration programme, you will take part in 3 three-day peer-learning workshops in cohorts of 5 enterprises. These workshops will be comprised of intense toolified facilitator-to-enterprise support and knowledge exchange with a focus on financially sound business model development. The acceleration programme will be running over the course of nine months, starting in June 2022. Selected enterprises will furthermore be invited to biodiversity breakfasts and cross-sectoral roundtables to showcase their business models, exchange experiences and build new partnerships with a focus on access to external finance.
If you have further questions regarding the Biodiversity Finance Accelerator, be sure to visit our FAQ or reach out to our local implementation partners (contacts can be found in the FAQ).
