With funding from the UK and Norway, the Nature-First Innovation Lab (NFIL) will help Savanna Agri Chains get ready to raise investment so it can upgrade equipment and expand operations
Savanna Agri Chains, which sources and exports shea butter and baobab from Northern Ghana while actively restoring the land, is one of five African enterprises selected for the first cohort of the Nature-First Innovation Lab (NFIL).
The 12-month accelerator, run by FSD Africa with Systemiq and the African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA) and backed by UK International Development and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), will help the five get ready to raise investment, with a collective fundraising target of around USD 10 million.
Founded in 2016 and led by Julius Awaregya, Savanna is based in Paga and works with more than 1,000 women harvesters across 22 districts of Northern Ghana. Its shea butter and baobab are used in skincare and food. It is certified by EcoCert, which allows it to export organic products to Europe and the Americas, and by Regenified, which confirms that its practices actively restore the land. These include natural composting and better use of water.
The company doubled its revenue between 2023 and 2025 and is now looking to expand operations to 40 districts in Ghana and to Central South Region in Burkina Faso as well as increase the number of collectors and aggregators from 2,800 to 7,000. Through NFIL, Savanna will get help to put its finances in order, formalise how the company is run, and prepare it to raise the money it needs to centralise its operations and upgrade its processing equipment so more of the value it generates can be captured locally.
Savanna is joined by four other enterprises from Africa:
· Acacia EPZ, a Kenyan exporter of gum arabic providing an alternative to supplies interrupted by conflict in Sudan
· Forested, which works with smallholder farmers in Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda to supply regenerative honey, beeswax, shea butter, and oils to international beauty brands
· NovFeed (Tanzania), which turns organic waste into fish feed and fertiliser
· ForestFoods (Kenya), which uses a Brazilian method of agroforestry. What links all five is that their revenue depends on maintaining or restoring healthy land, forests and soils.
An estimated 62% of Africa’s GDP is dependent on nature, according to research by FSD Africa and McKinsey Sustainability. Yet enterprises that build the protection and restoration of nature into their business model often struggle to raise the funding they need to grow.
NFIL aims to help fill this gap according to Dorothy Maseke, Head of the ANCA Secretariat and Lead, Nature Finance and TNFD at FSD Africa.
She said: “A growing number of African enterprises reach technical feasibility and then stall because revenues aren’t sufficiently anchored, governance is not investment-grade, and documentation is incomplete. It’s that gap between what grants and philanthropy will fund and where commercial capital begins that NFIL is designed to fill. These five enterprises are already established and generating revenue. What they need now is support to get investment-ready.”
Each enterprise will receive grants, help with financial planning, governance and measuring its impact on nature, along with introductions to investors. NFIL does not take equity. Its role is to bring enterprises to the point where investors can make a decision.
The first cohort focuses on regenerative supply chains. Regenerating the world’s 30 most valuable landscapes is a USD 310 billion opportunity for commercial investors, according to one recent estimate (BCG, 2025).
About the Nature First Innovation Lab (NFIL)
NFIL is funded by UK International Development (FCDO), the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD). It is the companion accelerator to the Carbon Accelerator Programme for the Environment (CAPE), FSD Africa’s programme for nature projects where carbon revenues are the main basis for investment. The two programmes share one goal, bringing more investment into Africa’s nature-positive economy, but they test different routes. NFIL backs enterprises that investors can fund on the strength of their products, customers and growth, with nature outcomes built into how they make money. Carbon finance may play a part, but it is not the basis of the investment case. For more information, visit: https://fsdafrica.org/the-nature-first-innovation-lab/
About the African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA)
The African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA) is the continent’s leading platform for nature-positive finance. Established by FSD Africa, ANCA brings together more than 150 member institutions – representing over GBP 1 trillion in net assets across 45 countries – that are reshaping how finance integrates nature into policy and investment decisions. Find out more at: https://africannaturalcapitalalliance.com
About Systemiq
Systemiq is a systems change company that works with businesses, policymakers, investors and civil society organisations to reimagine and reshape the systems that sit at the heart of society – energy, nature and food, materials, built-environment, and finance – to accelerate the shift to a more sustainable and inclusive economy. Founded in 2016, Systemiq is a certified B Corp, and has offices in Brazil, France, Germany, Indonesia, Kenya, the Netherlands and the UK. Find out more at www.systemiq.earth or via LinkedIn.
About FSD Africa
FSD Africa is a specialist development agency making finance work for Africa’s future. We work with governments, regulators, and financial institutions across 30 countries to strengthen markets, shape policy, and mobilise capital into opportunities supporting growth, climate resilience, the clean energy transition, and nature-positive development. Supported by the UK Government alongside philanthropic and development partners, we also deploy catalytic capital through our investment arm, FSD Africa Investments. For more information, please visit: https://www.fsdafrica.org