PROGRAM Partners
The Forest Enterprise Incubation Program
We teamed up with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to create a free program that helps new entrepreneurs in Vietnam who are just starting out. Our incubation program can support up to 50 new businesses from Vietnam that have the potential to promote sustainable development practices in the region.
This program is part of the UN-REDD Lower Mekong Initiative on Sustainable Forest Trade.
With a shared vision, we aim to build businesses that:
Are profitable and prosper
include their communities
Adapt to climate change and prevent deforestation
We want to support new businesses in Vietnam that focus on protecting forests through sustainable business practices.
Do you have a business in one of these forestry sectors?
Take your venture to the next level through our program.
Wood & Timber
Wood-based products, such as industrial wood, processed items, construction materials.
Eco-Tourism
Sustainable travel, responsible tourism, or environmentally-friendly accommodations and experiences.
Biodiversity conservation
Reforestation projects, water conservation, forest protection or wildlife sanctuaries.
TECHNOLOGY & SMART APPLICATIONS
Sustainable forestry practices and innovative technologies for forest management
(water management, inventory technologies, monitoring, precision, restoration, etc).
Businesses working with NTFPs are also welcomed!
Animal products
Sustainable animal care, conservation, ethically-sourced products, or organic animal-derived products (e.g: meat and dairy, honey, etc)
Food & Agro-Forestry
Agro-forestry businesses such as Organic farming, sustainable agriculture, innovative production, or farm-to-table initiatives (e.g: Fruits, seeds, coffee, mushrooms, etc).
Oils & resins
Sustainable harvesting of essential oils, natural fragrances, or non-toxic resins & gums
Medicinal & Ornamental plants
Sustainable cultivation of herbal remedies, natural cosmetics, plant-based textiles or flowers, and amenity planting.
Not sure if this program is for you?We can offer guidance.
Why join as an entrepreneur?
Step-by-step learning and development
Our program follows a step-by-step methodology, which allows you to work directly on your business and make the most important decisions, as well as visualize your financial projections or your growth and impact plan for the next few years.
Personalized mentoring
You’ll be partnered with a professional to personally guide you, with whom you will have weekly video call sessions. This way, you can have an external point of view while you validate your project and advance in key aspects to define your business and its potential.
Global entrepreneurship community
Become a part of a supportive global community of founders that share resources and harness challenges together.
Final Pitch Competition
Once the incubation phase has finished, participate in the Final Pitch Competition where you will be able to present your business in front of different stakeholders.
ANYTIME, ANYWHERE
Our program is 100% online and allows you to have a flexible schedule. Work from anywhere at any time through our online platform. No barriers, limits, or excuses: just an internet connection.
Build your own executive summary
The platform offers a learn-by-doing approach inspired by the most recent entrepreneurship methodologies. You will get to generate your own Executive Summary in PDF format, a document you can share with potential investors, co-founders, etc.
Not sure if this program is for you?Wa can offer guidance.
Maximize your potential. Develop a business plan that is customized to your company's specific needs and goals, with the help of a trusted mentor.
What will I learn during this program?
Learn how to manage finances, develop a marketing strategy and create a solid business plan.
Value proposition
Define how your product or service is different and valuable to your customers.
Competition Map
Make your product or service stand out from your competition when selling to the same customers.
Stakeholder map
Confidently identify the individuals or groups that have a strong interest or involvement in your project.
Business model & marketing
Promote your products effectively and sell more at the right price.
Pricing & Business Availability
Ensure that your business stays profitable over time.
Financial Projections
Plan the financial stability and money management for the next 3 years of your business.
Impact Plan
Design how your business will contribute to your sector and region and set how you'll measure it.
Growth Plan
Set growth goals and priorities and monitor your advancements in achieving these as time passes.
Don't just take our word for it.
See what previous entrepreneurs have to say!
This is our second time around.
Discover the benefits of our program through the experiences of our past entrepreneurs.
"This program helps new entrepreneurs to make a well-prepared business plan, which is a very important step that is often overlooked by many start-ups. Another important benefit is that we have networking opportunities with fellow entrepreneurs, who could potentially become customers or partners; as well as a chance to work with international organizations like Bridge for Billions or WWF."
"The most precious thing, through the program, I get to connect with mexntors and in that thanks to Mr. Quang, I have gained a lot of contacts, and a lot of direct and indirect help. And on this occasion, through face-to-face sessions, more than 30 hectares of bamboo forests have been planted, with more than 12,000 seedlings, and those forests will continue to be expanded. Importantly, the way to do that has been securitized, transparent, specific, and attracted a lot of attention from many different audiences in society. And those things, I personally could not have done well, without you (Bridge for Billions).¨
"My initial drive to join the program is to promote and support entrepreneurs who have positive impacts on Mother Earth. I feel like after the program I got more than what I expected in the beginning. I'm very impressed with the dedication of Matt in supporting local communities to plant 300,000 trees in the last 2 years. During 6 months of mentorship program, we've customized it to meet the most urgent needs of growing Matt's businesses locally and internationally. We worked on both short-term execution and long-term strategy, making sure by the end of this year, his company can double its production capacity, and expand its market to the US in the same year.”
"eLearning platform and UX are fantastic. Nothing like this exists in Vietnam yet, at least not for the famous entrepreneurship programs that I know. Overall, I think the platform is amazing, and the organizers did an excellent job"
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This program is perfect for you if:
- You have a business-driven approach to your venture and are open to outside mentorship and guidance.
- You have a business idea with a validated MVP (Minimum Viable Product), or you have a young business and you haven't yet found a sustainable model for it (despite already having some sales).
- Your business core activities belong to the sustainable timber value chain or within a key sector/subsector within sustainable forest trade (e.g. furniture, rubber, chips, processing, equipment, trade, etc).
- Your business already has a sustainable practice and you are hoping to scale or you are developing a new area of your business that positively impacts the forest sector.
- You can commit to the whole duration of the program (7-8h/week for 6 months).
- You have a reliable internet connection and access to a computer/laptop that you can use regularly.
Our proven methodology awaits for you!
More than 3,600 entrepreneurs in the worldhave grown their business with us!
Send your application before
Days
Hours
Minutes
DEADLINE: june, 11th 2023
Timeline
Apply to the program
Until June, 11th 2023
Tell us more about you, your team and your venture by submitting your application below. Our team will evaluate all applications from entrepreneurs who apply to the program.
Keep in mind! Only one of the team members should apply. Later on, once accepted, you will be able to add the rest of the members so you can collaborate together in the platform.
After the application process we will review all of them and we will send you an email, letting you know more details about your participation.
Participate in the welcome session
We will invite you to participate in an information session to welcome you to the incubation program. In this session we will cover the role of program participants, the role of your mentor, the use of incubation platform that will help you work on your business, and much more!
Meet your mentor
Take part in our matching process! You will have the opportunity to meet online with volunteer mentors, both local and international.
Once you have met several of them, both you and the mentors will submit your rankings in order to let us know who you think will be the best fit for your project's needs. Based on the rankings, we will make the best mentor-mentee pairs.
The incubation program begins!
Welcome! Now you are ready to begin a 4-month incubation period to continue developing your business.
- Follow an online curriculum with 8 modules to build a robust value proposition and business strategy for your venture.
- Meet weekly with your personal mentor on one-to-one online sessions to get a fresh perspective and make sure you're in the right direction.
- Attend the monthly online group meetings to meet fellow founders and work on the soft and business skills needed to grow as an entrepreneur.
- Once the incubation phase has finished, participate in the Final Pitch Competition where you will be able to present your business in front of stakeholders.
What makes us so successful?
Step-by-step learning and development
Our program is designed to guide you through each stage of your business journey. You will learn by doing practical exercises that can be applied to your business from the first day.
FLEXIBLE ONLINE LEARNING
Work from anywhere and at anytime using our online platform. All you need is an internet connection. Focus on your entrepreneurial journey without compromising your other responsibilities!
A MENTOR JUST FOR YOU!
We'll pair you with a mentor who will guide you personally, through weekly video calls. They'll provide an external perspective to help you with your business and its potential.
EXPERT SESSIONS
Join our industry-led webinars with experienced professionals in sustainable forest practices topics relevant in the current context in Vietnam. Get actionable guidelines to apply to your business!
BE PART OF A COMMUNITY
Join a friendly community of other forestry entrepreneurs and business mentors to share resources, make business alliances, and work through challenges together.
BUILD YOUR BUsiness PLan
After going through the business incubation process, create and download from our platform the executive summary you can share with banks, investors or other stakeholders in order to support to grow your business.
FINAL EVENT
By the end of the program, we'll host a closing event where top finalists will get to present their business ideas to relevant stakeholders locally. All participants will be able to share their projects and network with the program partners.
Ready to take your business to the next level?
Apply now for our free incubation program and let's build a more sustainable future together!
Questions about the program?
What does the program offer?
The Sustainable Forest Trade Incubation Program is a mentoring and business incubation support program that assists entrepreneurs and businesses in developing enticing and attractive business models that are focused on restoration of landscapes and ecosystems.
- The program offers a 4-month curriculum blending online content and in-person check-ins.
- An online platform takes participants through an 8-module program covering market differentiation and business planning in order to maximize the commercial viability of ventures.
- An assigned mentor helps participants (on a weekly basis, through 1.5 hour video calls or in-person meetings) to test their business assumptions and gather feedback to further their online curriculum progression.
What is the time commitment to the program?
The whole program takes 6 months and requires a minimum of 8 hours of work per week from you. The more time you’re able to put in, the better the results. A typical week you’ll spend:
• Around 3hrs working on the online modules
• At least 1h in a mentorship call with your personal mentor.
• At least 2hrs doing field work to validate your assumptions, getting to know your customers and market, etc.
If you have a business partner, you can divide the work. If you can’t commit to at least 7/8 hours per week for 4 months, this may not be the program for you.
What technology will I need for the program?
We advise you to have a laptop or desktop computer and preferably one of these browsers: Google Chrome, Safari or Mozilla Firefox. However, our platform is also suitable for cell phones and tablets.
Also, we expect you to have a stable and reliable internet connection both for your work on the platform as well as to participate in the calls with your mentor via video call.
What does the program ask in return for my participation?
Motivation and time commitment are paramount to the success of your participation: this is an intensive 4-month curriculum blending tested methodologies and formats to maximize tangible progress toward commercial viability of existing ventures.
In contrast to other incubation and/or acceleration programs, there is no partial ownership for equity schemes nor prize money.
However, we offer a program completely free of charge that allows you to gain industry knowledge and guidance from mentors in the field or business experts.
What is the role of a mentor?
Your mentor is your guide throughout the program — someone who understands the intricacies of your business. Week after week, your mentor will help you validate your strategy and design your growth plan. Mentors support you through your work on the platform and meet with you once a week to review the work done (typically using video calls).
Can my teammate work with me on the project?
Yes! You and your business partners can all participate in the program. Only one representative from your team should apply, but if selected you can easily invite your teammates in the beginning of the incubation stage.
I’m concerned about my intellectual property if I apply. Should I be worried about this?
Protecting your intellectual property is extremely important to us. Your application and program data are confidential.
Besides, both you and your intellectual property are protected by our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy. Your mentor will also sign a Mentorship Agreement that includes a confidentiality clause.
What does the program offer to its graduates?
The aim of the program is to support its participants in achieving commercial viability as a pre-condition to investment.
Media Partners
Connect with our program managers:
Mahmoud Assy
Bridge for Billions Program Manager for the Sustainable Forest Trade Incubation Program
Nguyen Bich Hang
Manager, Forest Sector Transformation & Sustainable Forest Trade in the Lower Mekong Region, WWF-Việt Nam
