Five African enterprises working in regenerative agriculture, natural ingredients, apiculture, aquaculture and circular production have been selected for the first cohort of the Nature-First Innovation Lab (NFIL), a 12-month accelerator designed to help businesses that depend on healthy ecosystems become investment-ready and attract an estimated US$10 million in collective fundraising.
Announced in Nairobi on 27 October 2026, the cohort brings together Acacia EPZ and ForestFoods from Kenya, Forested operating across East Africa, NovFeed from Tanzania and Savanna Agri Chains from Ghana. The programme is run by FSD Africa in partnership with Systemiq and the African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA), with backing from UK International Development and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad).
The initiative targets a financing gap facing enterprises whose commercial performance depends on protecting or restoring the natural resources underpinning their products. Although such businesses can generate revenue through established markets, they may struggle to secure commercial investment when their financial planning, governance structures, transaction documentation or environmental impact measurement are not sufficiently developed for investor due diligence.
According to research cited by FSD Africa and McKinsey Sustainability, an estimated 62% of Africa’s gross domestic product depends on nature. Agriculture, food production, natural-resource-based industries and rural livelihoods rely on functioning ecosystems, yet land degradation, changing land use, overexploitation and climate change threaten the resources on which these sectors depend.
Nature-first enterprises seek to address this relationship through their core business models. Rather than treating conservation as a separate corporate responsibility activity, they generate revenue from products, services and supply chains that depend on protecting, restoring or sustainably managing ecosystems. Their commercial growth can therefore create incentives to maintain the natural assets supporting production, although the scale of environmental benefits depends on how practices are implemented and measured.
Dorothy Maseke, head of the ANCA Secretariat and lead for Nature Finance and TNFD at FSD Africa, said many African enterprises reach technical feasibility but struggle to progress because revenues are not sufficiently anchored, governance is not investment-grade and documentation remains incomplete. NFIL is intended to address the gap between funding typically available through grants and philanthropy and the requirements of commercial capital.
Under the programme, participating enterprises will receive grants, financial-planning support, governance assistance, help measuring nature-related outcomes and introductions to prospective investors. NFIL does not take equity in the businesses. Its role is to prepare enterprises to a point where investors can assess their commercial prospects, risks and potential environmental impact. The US$10 million figure represents the cohort’s collective fundraising target, not capital already raised or guaranteed by the accelerator.
The programme’s first cohort focuses on regenerative supply chains, reflecting growing interest in business models that combine production with improvements in soil health, biodiversity and resource management. A 2025 analysis by Boston Consulting Group estimated that regenerating the world’s 30 most valuable landscapes could represent a US$310 billion commercial investment opportunity. The estimate points to potential investor interest, but translating that opportunity into finance requires investable projects, suitable financing structures and evidence that environmental outcomes can be sustained alongside commercial returns.
Among the selected businesses, Kenya’s Acacia EPZ is positioning itself as an alternative supplier of gum arabic, a natural ingredient used in food, beverages, medicines and other products. The company works with more than 12,000 collectors across Kenya’s arid and semi-arid northern counties, around 70% of whom are women. Collectors harvest gum from acacia trees, creating an income stream linked to the continued availability of the trees.
Conflict in Sudan has disrupted a major source of global gum arabic supplies, creating an opening for alternative origins that can provide buyers with traceability and supply-chain assurance. Acacia EPZ says it already sells to international buyers and has increased revenue by 56% over the past two years. The accelerator is expected to help the business prepare for further growth while maintaining the connection between commercial harvesting and the protection of the acacia woodlands on which its supply depends.
Forested, which operates across Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda, works with smallholder farmers to supply regenerative honey, beeswax, shea butter and oils to international beauty and personal-care markets, including Lush Cosmetics. Its model combines sourcing from agricultural supply chains with programmes intended to improve environmental practices and strengthen farmers’ resilience.
The company has also developed an outcomes-based financing concept called “Bee Bond”, designed to fund practices that support pollinators. Bees and other pollinators contribute to agricultural production, while the condition of surrounding ecosystems influences the reliability of crop yields. Forested’s approach seeks to connect investment in pollinator-friendly practices with agricultural productivity and the longer-term resilience of supply chains. Its effectiveness will depend on how outcomes are measured, how benefits are distributed and whether the financing structure can attract investors at a commercially viable scale.
In Tanzania, NovFeed uses microbial fermentation to convert organic waste into protein-rich fish feed and natural fertiliser. The products provide an alternative use for organic material that might otherwise be discarded, while offering fish farmers a locally produced feed option and farmers access to inputs intended to improve soil health. The company distributes its products through more than 300 shops and distributors across Tanzania, according to the announcement.
The business illustrates how circular production can connect waste management with agricultural and aquaculture markets. Its ability to scale will depend on reliable supplies of suitable organic waste, consistent product quality, competitive pricing and continued demand from farmers. Investment readiness could help NovFeed address these requirements as it seeks to expand production and distribution.
Ghana’s Savanna Agri Chains sources and exports shea butter and baobab, ingredients used in food and skincare products. Founded in 2016, the company works with more than 1,000 women harvesters across 22 districts in northern Ghana and supplies Regenified-certified products. It plans to extend its procurement network to 40 districts in Ghana and expand into Burkina Faso’s Central South Region.
The expansion would increase the geographical reach of its sourcing activities and create opportunities to include more harvesters in commercial supply chains. However, growth will also require the company to maintain quality standards, traceability and dependable relationships with producers and buyers as volumes increase. The extent to which local communities capture additional value will depend on procurement arrangements, processing capacity and the terms under which products enter export markets.
ForestFoods, the second Kenyan enterprise in the cohort, is developing a commercial model based on syntropic agroforestry, a farming approach that integrates trees and crops, and may incorporate livestock, within systems designed to regenerate the land while producing food. The business operates farms in Limuru, Naivasha and Naro Moru, with another site under development in Shimba Hills.
The model seeks to move beyond farming systems in which ecological restoration and food production are treated as competing objectives. By combining diverse plantings and agricultural production, syntropic agroforestry aims to improve soil conditions and support more resilient farming landscapes. Its commercial potential depends on factors including crop selection, farm management, market access, operating costs and the time required for different components of the system to generate returns.
Across the five enterprises, the common challenge is converting a demonstrated business model into an investment proposition that can attract capital at greater scale. Investors need credible financial forecasts, clear governance and reporting systems, while nature-positive businesses also need practical ways to measure whether their activities improve ecosystem conditions rather than simply generate environmental claims.
This creates a potential role for accelerators that combine grants and technical assistance with transaction support and investor engagement. Grant funding can help enterprises address early-stage preparation costs that commercial lenders or investors may be unwilling to absorb, while stronger financial systems and evidence of environmental outcomes can improve the basis for investment decisions. The accelerator does not remove commercial risks or guarantee funding, but it aims to make those risks more transparent and assessable.
The wider challenge is to ensure that investment in nature-positive businesses delivers measurable benefits for the landscapes and communities on which their revenues depend. Traceable sourcing, sustainable harvesting, regenerative production and circular processing can support this objective, but their impacts require consistent monitoring and credible evidence. As the enterprises expand, maintaining these standards will be important to both market access and the integrity of their environmental claims.
NFIL’s first cohort will therefore test whether targeted financial and technical support can help established African nature-first enterprises move from operating businesses to investment-ready opportunities. Its eventual significance will be measured not only by the amount of capital the companies raise, but also by their ability to expand commercially while sustaining the natural systems and livelihoods that underpin their growth.
