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The Beyond Tourism Incubator was launched by the African Leadership University School of Wildlife Conservation in collaboration with the Luc Hoffmann Institute and WWF-World Wide Fund For Nature Africa Regional Office. The program sought new scalable and profitable businesses that do not depend on tourism but still enable local communities within African countries to obtain their livelihoods from wildlife, manage their natural resources sustainably, and improve their collective wellbeing.
The journey started with over 300 applicants from all across Africa and around the world. After a rigorous review of these applications, we enrolled 15 teams in our incubator program, 2 of which dropped out.
This eight-month digital experience was designed to support the selected entrepreneurs in transforming their innovative ideas into viable businesses using our unique learning model, a community of peers, and a support ecosystem of mentors. After completing these eight months of refining their businesses, they are ready to impact their communities and beyond.
Value Nature is on a mission to accelerate the protection and value recognition of Nature. They will do so by using locally led deployment of sensor technologies to efficiently measure biodiversity at the site level and integrate it with remote sensing data to extrapolate this effort. The Value Nature platform will analyse and track these data, achieving verification through a 3rd party, and link this to a marketplace for global investment into biodiversity and carbon tokens. Using blockchain technology to ensure transparency they will enable direct marketing channels, linking end users with land stewards, encouraging local conservation effort and reducing poverty through nature-based development projects with an aim to prevent, halt and or reverse the degradation and loss of natural resources.
Mark is a conservationist with interest in rural development and the convergence of business and conservation. He is the Chair of the IUCN Committee in South Africa and the MD of Wildlife ACT a conservation Non-Profit.
Simon has a PhD in conservation ecology with a focus on rhino, and has been working to bridge the gap between research and conservation management for the last 15 years.
Gavin is an experienced entrepreneur. He was CTO & co-founder of Sheep Inc – the world’s first carbon negative fashion brand. He has extensive Blockchain experience.
Value Nature seeks
200,000 USD
in upfront Token Purchases
Africa THINKS is an online education platform where individuals and groups in local communities can provide lessons live ‘from the field’, describing the natural systems and wildlife where they live. These lessons will also include the histories and mythologies associated with wildlife (plants and animals) and the landscapes they occur in. The platform will provide a much needed global classroom for Indigenous Knowledge Systems while promoting sustainable livelihoods in Africa.
Marina Khoza is a botanist and environmentalist community activist and is involved in programmes aimed at building leadership and academic potential of young women.
Prof. Nick King is an independent global change consultant who has extensive experience working with governments, private sector, NGOs and local communities.
Karen is a Conservation Biologist and Lecturer with over 15 years’ experience designing and delivering transformative nature-based programs.
Value Nature seeks
400,000 USD
in Equity, Grant, Human Capital and Revenue
Healthy Pi is a food processing company currently working with women farmers in Luwero Uganda adding value to their farm produce by transforming them into commercial condiments. We are a post revenue venture seeking to expand our operations to conservation communities in Uganda, using the same approach to empower women farmers in those areas through training and agricultural extension services. These farmer groups will grow chilli as an input for the production of conservation condiments like chilli sauces that will be resold to tourists and tourist accommodation in those areas
Marjorie is founder of MN Foods Ltd, an umbrella business of the healthy Pi, a small scale agro processing industry aiming to provide a range of food products.
Carol is a graduate of Makerere University and the Operations Lead of Healthy Pi currently spearheading farmer training and other engagements.
Esther is a partner at Healthy Pi and holds a degree in Business Computing from Makerere University.
Healthy Pi seeks
100,000 USD
in Grants and Equity
Home of the Gorillas’ mission is to use technology in particular gamification, virtual reality, augmented reality and ecommerce to generate non-trekking revenues towards Gorilla conservation in Bwindi Uganda
David is the founder of Tripesa, a Platform as a service to help digitize SME tourism operators in Africa. He built his first tech business in 2003 and was named Uganda Innovation Achiever of the Year 2017.
Hannah is Conservationist, community member, Travel Massive, founder Home of friends community tour operator.
Fidelis is a conservationist and has for long brokered community/Park authority negotiations. He is a community leader in Bwindi area.
Home of the Gorillas seeks
100,000 USD
in Grants and Equity
The Shaba: We digitise culture by providing an online platform that connects rural artisans to larger markets. We also bridge the technological divide by providing a ready market for the physical products and collaborating with rural artisan to create virtual prints that can be used across different industries such as the fashion and textile industries.
Gloria has a professional background in the Tourism Industry holding a Bsc. in Hospitality Management with a keen interest in sustainability and economic empowerment of communities. She has experience working with two other startups that focused on climate migration and economic empowerment .Participation in (MIT Scale Up & Kenya-UK Tech Hub), SDG ambassador and Hult Prize Alumni.
Home of Gorillas seeks
75,000 USD
in Grants and Equity
The Shaba: We digitise culture by providing an online platform that connects rural artisans to larger markets. We also bridge the technological divide by providing a ready market for the physical products and collaborating with rural artisan to create virtual prints that can be used across different industries such as the fashion and textile industries.
Matt Lindenberg is the Founder and Executive Director of the Global Conservation Corps. He founded GCC to increase conservation-related opportunities for community members.
Global conservation corps seeks
300,000 USD
in Equity, Grant and Human Capital
ForestPesa enables individuals and brands to make blockchain-enabled fractional investments in sustainable forest assets. We are creating a forest cryptocurrency that will appreciate in value cumulatively 1-3% per year. This will provide a return to our investors while enabling better forest conservation, climate action and community development.
Dr Ddamulira has over the past 17-year been leading on diverse environmental sustainability issues across different countries including nearly 9 years with WWF.
Reinhard Nyandire has wide-ranging experience in various fields including, sustainable development, climate change, advocacy, forest conservation, and project management.
Julius has experience in Renewable Energy, Financial Inclusion, Microfinance, Project Management, and Monitoring and Evaluation.
Forest Pesa seeks
1,000,000 USD
in Equity, Grant, Human Capital, and Revenue
Morebee Natural Honey harvest, process and package natural honey it in 500, 400 and 300-gram bottles for sale in and outside Sierra Leone; introduce and encourage the use of reusable wooden hives among local beekeepers to preserve the bees and ensure increased production, pollination of flowers and availability of bush fruits for wildlife.
Mariama is a teacher by training; soft-spoken but well known and respected. She has a BSc. from the Institute of Public Administration and Management, University of Sierra Leone.
Aminata holds a BSc. degree in Banking and Finance from the University of Makeni (UNIMAK). She is now an entrepreneur.
David is a civil engineer and has vast experience in social marketing. He provides technical assistance and is one of the founding members of Happy Child.
Morebee Natural Honey seeks
459,000 USD
in Grant and Revenue
Lemora seeds has a vision to improve the livelihoods of the local people as well as to promote the conservation of the biodiversity of Madagascar, including lemurs and their habitat. We will give value and manage durably the natural resources by selling seeds that have been prepared for germination by lemurs, seedlings, seed bombs and Opuntia Jam.
Tahina’s passion for conservation traces back to the California Academy of Sciences at Tsimbazaza, where she studied botany and ecology. As a botany intern she specializes in malagasy plants.
Olivia Onjaniaina has dedicated her study at the California Academy of Sciences at Tsimbazaza. As a conservationist intern, Olivia specializes in plant systematics.
Christian is a professional consultant in conservation and specializes in toxicology of endemic plants and ants from Madagascar.
Lemora Seeds seeks
60,000 USD
in Grants and Customer access
Wild Equities seeks to make wildlife investment accessible to anyone. In partnership with the Baviaanskloof Bewarea conservancy, we offer an opportunity to individuals to buy and sell wildlife without owning land or arranging logistics. Trading options, market updates and wildlife wellness reports will be provided via an online platform. Through wildlife investment Wild Equities offers an alternative income opportunity and increased financial resilience to landowners in a rural landscape while providing incentive for improved habitat management.
Justin has a passion for wildlife and community-based natural resource management from a very young age. He is a visionary, strategic thinker and thrives in complex environments.
Justine is a closet entrepreneur. Having grown up on a farm, the natural environment and associated challenges posed enough motivation to look out for interesting opportunities.
Luyanda studied Agricultural Extension to equip himself with knowledge of how farmers can better utilize their resources. He is the team’s drone pilot.
Wild Equities seek
90,000 USD
in Grant, and Revenue
The cultural marketplace is an online marketplace for local artisans and cultural advocates to sell their arts and culture to culture lovers all around the world. Buyers will be able to learn more about Botswana culture and the story behind each product. And the best part, with each purchase, buyers will be directly supporting the local sellers and wildlife conservation.
Ruth has worked with local communities in Botswana since 1996 and has extensive experience in the area. She is committed to linking the private sector to community initiatives in a sustainable manner.
Gosaitse has strong relationships with the local communities. She has an outstanding ability to build rapport and communicate effectively with vendors and buyers.
Debora is the Strategic Advisor. She brings international experience in the IT industry and Project Management skills.
The Cultural Marketplace seeks
100,000 USD
in Grants and Human Capital
We use satellite technology to link suppliers of soil carbon credits (rangeland managers) to a range of buyers across market segments. We broker sales by estimating the verified carbon units (VCUs) each landowner or community could produce and model potential revenues through varying management scenarios and wildlife conservation co-benefits.
Matt is a conservation scientist with seven years of experience in conservation policy and implementation at the Endangered Wildlife Trust and the South African National Biodiversity Institute.
Tyron is a Fellow of the Faculty and Institute of actuaries, Tyron has experience brings insight into business model design, business development and investor relations.
Alex is a climate and energy economist with a focus on carbon pricing and carbon markets. He has expertise in global climate policy and finance.
Rewild Capital seeks
1,000,000 USD
in Equity, Grant, and Revenue
The ALU School of Wildlife Conservation is the first of its kind on the continent, dedicated to growing the next generation of world class conservation leaders in Africa.
The continent needs home grown African leaders to spearhead new and innovative approaches in the business of conservation.
Bumbogo, Kigali Innovation City, Next to Azam, Kigali, Rwanda
Phone: +250 784 650 219
sowc@alueducation.com