The Restoration Factory is a six-month digital business incubation program designed to support the emergence of commercially viable, community-inclusive, and climate-resilient businesses with the potential to restore natural ecosystems and preserve landscapes in Rwanda.
The UN Environment program in partnership with Bridge for Billions, with technical support from Stewardship Agribusiness Incubation Center, is implementing The Restoration Factory Program in Rwanda to support early stage eco-preneurs in the country.
This program aims to support enterprises within the macro sectors of Forest Restoration and Landscape Conservation. Key subsectors include, but are not limited to:
Connect with other entrepreneurs and mentors to build a strong business network. Learn. Share and grow together.
Entrepreneurship can be lonely. Receive advice to guide your business decisions, generate new ideas and propel your business forward.
Learn how to present your project like a pro and compete in front of a jury in our final event.
Discover how to implement a new revenue stream to your existing business.
Learn how to calculate your costs and price points, to drive your profits and growth.
Master how to communicate your project to your potential customers.
Acquire skills to calculate your business finances for the next 3 years, so you can make the revenue stream launch a success.
Uncover how your business can positively impact your community, and make strong community connections to drive growth for all.
Strategize to diversify your revenue streams, scale your operations, and attract new customers.
Start by clicking on the “Apply now!” button.
Fill in your personal information to set up an account on our platform.
Remember your email and password for future access.
Complete all sections of the application, thoroughly filling out each answer.
Once completed, all the checkmarks at the top will turn blue, indicating that you’re ready to submit.
Note: An asterisk “*” next to the question indicates that the field is required.
We recommend that you review your application in detail one last time. If you’re good to go, click “Submit” in the lower right corner.
Our team will be in touch with a notification about the status of your application.
About UNEP
For 50 years, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has coordinated a worldwide effort to confront the planet’s biggest environmental challenges.
Its mission is to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.
About Bridge for Billions
Bridge for Billions, one of the largest entrepreneurship networks in the world, creates, designs and manages innovation programs with foundations, corporations and public entities that have benefited more than 2,900 entrepreneurs in more than 98 countries. Its objective is to facilitate access to entrepreneurial support for all types of entrepreneurs with a common purpose: boost innovation that solves the problems that truly matter and generate employment.
About SAIC
Established in 2020, Stewardship Agribusiness Incubation Center (SAIC) is a Business Development and Services Center. The company was established to support the positive transformation of Agri-Food Systems through holistic and circular agribusinesses throughout chain management from inputs (seeds, fertilizers, pesticides) and services delivery (extension, internal systems strengthening, logistics, transport, postharvest handling, etc.), production management for both crops and livestock, marketing and value addition; sustainability management and innovation to speed up green jobs creation and adapt to the changing climate.
About Circle Innovation
Circle Innovation is a leading climate innovation catalyst in Africa, building thriving, resilient and sustainable communities through systems transformation, entrepreneurship and innovation. Circle Innovation enables the development of groundbreaking, contextual innovations in Africa through our proven systems innovation process.
We support innovators and entrepreneurs to design, launch and scale climate innovations. Since 2019 we have supported 100+ entrepreneurs to validate, launch and scale their sustainable innovations and ventures in Kenya and East Africa.
Our unique programs focus on supporting early-stage entrepreneurs to validate their products, services and business models in the market, launch their operations, and build market traction. We achieve this through our proven model, providing hands-on theoretical and practical business support, accompanied by expert coaches, mentorship and investor matchmaking. Current and previous program partners include the UN World Food Programme, Siemens Foundation, Plan International , UK-Kenya Tech Hub, Siemens Foundation, and British Council among others.
About RICEM
The Rwanda Institute of Cooperatives, Entrepreneurship, and Microfinance (RICEM) is a private entity owned by the Association of Microfinance Institutions of Rwanda (AMIR) and the National Cooperative Confederation of Rwanda (NCCR).
RICEM’s mission is to enhance the performance of beneficiaries from cooperatives, entrepreneurship, and microfinance in Rwanda and the region by providing technical capacity-building services, including short- and long-term training, consultancy, research, business support, and coaching. RICEM upholds values of professionalism, accountability, accessibility, practicability, and inclusiveness.
About CIFOR-ICRAF
The Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) harnesses the power of trees, forests and agroforestry landscapes to address the most pressing global challenges of our time – biodiversity loss, climate change, food security, livelihoods and inequity. CIFOR and ICRAF are CGIAR Research Centers.
The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration aims to prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and in every ocean. It can help to end poverty, combat climate change and prevent mass extinction.
Find out more here: https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/
Restoration enterprises put ecosystems’ restoration at the heart of their business model and operations. Further information on the need, role, and opportunities for restorative businesses is available from the platform of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration:
https://www.decadeonrestoration.org/types-ecosystem-restoration
The Restoration Factory is a mentoring and business incubation support program that assists entrepreneurs in developing enticing and attractive business models focused on the landscapes and ecosystems restoration.
If you want to get involved with this program please connect directly with Roger, Program Manager of the Restoration Factory Program.
We are now during the selection process, this means that out of all the applications we received from both entrepreneurs and mentors we will select the program participants.
Entrepreneurs offer solutions in the following sectors: goods (high-value crops and ingredients used for medicinal purposes, vegetation and livestock products, and upcycling of waste), and services (watershed services and ecotourism).
Connect directly with Christelle Igihozo, Program Manager at Bridge for Billions of the Restoration Factory Program.
