WRI-AFR100 2021 African Forest Landscape Restoration

WRI advised AUDA-NEPAD on ways to develop a comprehensive monitoring framework at the initiative scale. For AFR100 to succeed, it is imperative that there is a consistent, accurate means of monitoring where restoration is occurring and what its impacts are. To this end, WRI worked in an advisory capacity to support the AFR100 Secretariat, AUDA-NEPAD, to develop a monitoring framework to more precisely track restoration progress using indicators that match AFR100 goals. At AUDA-NEPADs request, WRI also provided critical feedback to The State of AFR100 progress report, played an active role in monitoring working groups, and supported AUDA-NEPAD to plan and organize events to showcase the latest data and tools for FLR monitoring. These efforts aimed to lay the foundation for the development of a robust monitoring system that can show evidence of progress and encourage more investment in FLR at the project, landscape, and national levels. Through the Land Accelerator, Africas leading restoration entrepreneurs are growing their networks and receiving the targeted technical assistance training and mentorship they need to take their businesses to the next level. In 2021, WRI, with AUDA-NEPAD and Fledge, launched a novel, all virtual version of the Land Accelerator Africa. Over 1,200 companies from across 30 countries applied, and 100 were invited to join the program (85 eventually graduated). Over the course of 12 weeks, the entrepreneurs participated in virtual peer-to-peer learning events, received weekly trainings on topics ranging from pitching and marketing to restoration with native species, accessed online courses specifically designed for start-ups, and engaged with expert mentors. The 15 most promising companies were invited to attend an additional 2-month investment-readiness program, which culminated with a week-long, in-person training and mentorship program in Nairobi, Kenya in November 2021. In 2022, the call for applications attracted over 1,400 applicants. After a rigorous screening process, 100 entrepreneurs were invited to participate in a curriculum similar to that of the 2021 program. The top 16 will converge in Kigali, Rwanda in October 2022 for the in-person bootcamp. In both years, the project team expanded our networks to reach more women and youth and encourage them to apply. Impact parameters collected from the 2021 cohort included 2,703 jobs created and 52,880 smallholder farmers engaged across 85 companies. Entrepreneurs also reported in a survey that they were collectively involved in restoring 91,556 hectares with 11,299,701 trees planted as of July 2021. In part to help entrepreneurs kickstart their next level of growth and development, each graduate from the 2021 cohort was granted an Innovation Grant funded by SIDA. This award ended before grants could be issued to the 2022 cohort. However, based on the success of the program, it was possible to leverage funding from other donors that will be dispersed as Innovation Grants to entrepreneurs in the 2022 cohort so that they can restore even more land and continue to help their communities thrive. WRI channelled funding to select graduates of the Land Accelerator through TerraFund, a new mechanism to finance the 100 most promising community led projects and enterprises that restore land in Africa. Building on its connections with investors and entrepreneurs made through the Land Accelerator, in September 2021, WRI and its partners at Realize Impact and One Tree Planted announced TerraFund for AFR100, a $20 million fund to provide grants and loans to the top 100 community led restoration projects and enterprises in Africa. Supported by the Bezos Earth Fund, One Tree Planted, Caterpillar Foundation, Good Energies Foundation, DOEN Foundation, and Lyda Hill Philanthropies, the fund acts as a concrete first step towards achieving the AFR100 Phase II Challenge, which aims to mobilize $2 billion in direct investment for restoration in Africa by COP27. The initial RFP launched by WRI attracted over 3,200 applicants from 31 AFR100 member countries. Of the 20 enterprises selected to receive loans of $50,000- $500,000, 14 were graduates of the Land Accelerator program, representing all previous and current cohorts (2018-2022). Repayments on the loans will be entered into a revolving fund and deployed to other enterprises across the continent to help them scale their restoration efforts.

AFR100 Goals AFR100 is an African owned and country-led initiative to restore 100 million hectares of deforested and degraded landscapes across Africa by 2030. The Initiative connects participating African countries with technical and financial support to scale up restoration on the ground and capture associated benefits. It provides a platform for: 1) Coordinating and streamlining Forest Landscapes Restoration (FLR) activities across the continent. 2) Enhancing knowledge exchanges and cross-learning amongst AFR100 Partner Countries and between AFR100 Technical and Financial Partners. 3) Amplifying the impact of FLR activities by encouraging stakeholders to work together in order to realise large-scale FLR in Africa Objectives of the project under consideration The proposed Swedish contribution to AFR100 (AUDA-NEPAD and WRI) will support two specific areas of work that are presented below. Work Area 1 - AFR100 Implementation Progress Tracking System The overarching aim is to establish an AFR100 implementation progress monitoring system which includes an effective and user-friendly tool that facilitates the sustainable generation of data and reports on the progress of AFR100 implementation activities at the national and local levels of participating countries. Key objectives of the AFR100 implementation progress tracking system include: 1.1 To develop a sound and numerical understanding of institutions/entities working on or supporting AFR100 implementation activities in Africa 1.2 To strengthen the coordination, communication, implementation, monitoring and reporting capabilities of the AFR100 Secretariat 1.3 To generate visualisations and develop a comprehensive mapping of AFR100 activities across the continent as well as opportunities for restoration 1.4 To establish indicators and to develop a sound data collection tool to track progress of AFR100 implementation activities in a systematic and standardized manner, including the collection of information on socio-economic and environmental factors; 1.5 To establish a Progress Tracking Framework defining methodologies of data collection and data analysis across all partner countries as well time frames, required resources and reporting schedule; 1.6 To design a comprehensive and recurrent (with a set periodicity) AFR100 reporting mechanism; 1.7 To become a gateway and point of interface for reliable data for tracking and measuring progress as well as for understanding challenges, opportunities and trajectory of FLR in Africa. Work Area 2 - AFR100 Land Accelerator programme: Empowering Women and Youth Restoration Entrepreneurs Key objectives of the Land Accelerator Program are: 2.1 Empower female and youth entrepreneurs to pitch to impact investors and sell their products more effectively; 2.2 Enhance knowledge and upskill female and youth restoration entrepreneurs to improve access to markets; 2.3 Encourage women and youth to participate and engage in green and circular economy opportunities. 2.4 Enhance representation and involvement of women and youth in restoration entrepreneurship opportunities in order to raise Africas gender and youth profile in green economy ventures.