25 entrepreneurs are restoring degraded forests, agricultural lands and pastures in the country.

On 12 April, the 20×20 Initiative launched the Land Accelerator xPeru programme, with a portfolio of sustainable ventures looking for funding to promote restoration, change land use dynamics and alleviate poverty.

In Peru, the Andean Forests Programme, promoted by the Global Climate Change Programme of Swiss Cooperation (SDC), implemented by HELVETAS Peru is a technical partner of the 20×20 Initiative, and together with the World Resources Institute and with the local support of Asesorandes and 3erPlaneta, they present the first cohort of the Land Accelerator xPeru (Peru Chapter).

Peru is one of the founding countries of the 20×20 Initiative, a country-led effort in Latin America and the Caribbean to change the dynamics of land degradation in the region. In the short term, the initiative assist efforts to restore 20 million hectares of degraded land by 2020, and an additional 30 million hectares in restoration by 2030 (Madrid Declaration, COP 25).

“The 20×20 Initiative will go to the COP26 with over 200 projects and approximately USD 2.5 billion as risk capital. But this is not enough. We need to double that investment and get to 50 million hectares restored,” said Walter Vergara of the 20×20 Initiative – World Restoration Initiative (WRI).

In the first phase of the Andean Forests Programme (AFP), the WRI collaborated with the 20×20 Initiative to find data on the status of landscape restoration experiences in the Andean countries. In this second phase, it is providing support to leverage public and private investments in forest landscape restoration. There are 22 private impact investment funds and financial partners affiliated to the initiative, willing to invest $2.4 billion in Latin America, and one of the main constraints is the need for a robust portfolio of projects.

Martin Jaggi, Head of SDC Cooperation in Peru and the Andean Region at the Swiss Embassy in Lima, stressed the importance of the Land Accelerator xPeru and the strategic role of Switzerland in supporting these initiatives: “For Switzerland, poverty reduction is a strategic issue at the national level. We recognise that the degradation of ecosystems increases inequalities. In areas such as mountain forests, and in the framework of the SDGs, we continue to support global programmes for promoting Andean forest restoration, and support initiatives to restore biodiversity and people’s livelihoods”.

Following the development of successful programmes in Africa, South Asia and Latin America, Land Accelerator xPeru (Peru Chapter), in its first version, is a programme that brings together 25 Peruvian ventures and consists of 10 weeks of mentoring, with six open or group mentorships per week, in order to develop the value proposition they have submitted. The mentoring will help develop sustainable and profitable projects and businesses in reforestation, agroforestry and regenerative agriculture in Peru. These were selected from a database of more than 100 opportunities identified by Asesorandes since the end of 2020.

The Land Accelerator xPeru connects these entrepreneurs with a team of dedicated mentors, technical expertise, marketing and networking opportunities and investors to scale up their work and contribute to the restoration goals set by the Peruvian government in the framework of the 20×20 Initiative and the Bonn Challenge.

The programme ran for 11 weeks from April to June 2021, ending with two Impact Days (22 and 29 June) where entrepreneurs pitched their vision for a greener Peru and what they require to scale their impact to a group of investors and other stakeholders. The videos of both presentations can be found in the links shared here:

This initiative has been funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the Government of Germany, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

The Land Accelerator xPeru Programme introduces investors to sustainable projects and connects them up. “In the pandemic, it is important to make a contribution to this, and it requires a lot of creativity, innovation and support”, said Francisco Medina, director of the Andean Forests Programme, a Helvetas Peru specialist.

The link below is to an article published in the La República newspaper, written by Musuq Briceño, of the Andean Forests Programme, which describes the story of a business incubator that aims to preserve the environment.

Source: Bosques Andinos / World Resources Institute

For further information:
Web Land Accelerator
Programme launch: Land Accelerator xPerú