Sponsoring Agency: Agence Française de Développement
Deadline Available: Available
Deadline Date (mm/dd/yyyy): 05/06/2021
Size of the Fund: Not Available
Agence Française de Développement launches a pilot project to accelerate pro-nature projects led by 30 entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs from eight countries in Southern Africa. The call for applications for this first edition is now open.
How can pro-nature actions be expanded to reach beyond existing stakeholders already working to promote biodiversity? The Biodiversity Partners Program (BIPP) pilot project, launched for the first time this year by Campus AFD, seeks to answer this question. The BIPP will offer an innovative 4-month program to support 30 participants from the world of business and entrepreneurship, public institutions and NGOs in their pro-nature projects.
This pilot project conducted in partnership with the Sustainability Institute and the African Management Institute seeks to get new institutions and companies involved in creating pro-nature projects, and expand perception of links with living things, with the aim of accelerating action and developing an ecosystem of regional stakeholders.
The BiPP program has a two-fold approach:
• to use accelerator models to scale impactful projects and create a community of change makers.
• to use nature-based learning methods to deploy pro-nature projects in various sectors and a common culture on biodiversity and ecological transition.
Program Roadmap
The BiPP will start June 7 and will end on October 2.
• PHASE 1 – EXPLORE
o JUNE 7th to JULY 2nd
Nature based solutions & indigenous knowledge systems
Exploring deep ecology & systems thinking
Developing your ecological leardership skills
Meeting innovative projects and their methods
• PHASE 2 – EXPERIMENT
o JULY 21st TO JULY 29th
6 days business sprint
Experimenting start up methods through a design sprint
Accelerating your project with a dedicated experts team
Working on your value proposition, marketing and business model
• PHASE 3 – GROW
o AUGUST 2nd TO OCTOBER 2nd
2 month virtual program to develop business skills
Learning new tools & applying them to your project with coaching from facilitators
Workshops to grow your project with your peers
Who Can Apply?
In 2021, the Biodiversity Partners Program is aimed at Southern African projects holders and transition actors in the field of biodiversity regeneration in the region (Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Malawi, Zambia, and Botswana). It gathers entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs from a wide diversity of sectors and doesn't know boundaries as long as the ambition is high for nature!
The program is for:
• INTRAPRENEURS
o You work in an organization (company, institution, etc.) whose core activity may NOT be biodiversity or conservation
o You develop or support (a) project(s) that will have an impact on biodiversity, is innocative, can be scaled or replicated
o The project(s) supported has/have a demonstrated positive impact on biodiversity in Southern Africa
o Your organization supports your initiative
• ENTREPRENEURS
o You have created an organization (company, NGO, etc.) with a legal structure and a minimum of 6 months of activity
o Your project has impacts on biodiversity, is innovative, can be scaled or replicated
o Your project is looking at economic viability to maintain impacts created you have an innovative pro-nature project.
More information at: https://www.afd.fr/en/actualites/biodiversity-partners-program-bipp-supporting-pro-nature-initiatives-southern-africa
