The Incubator will support a wide range of innovation in conservation finance, including conservation finance ventures that can generate a financial return and conservation finance concepts that lead to policy, regulatory, or non-profit finance solutions. All projects that enter the Incubator must be innovative and show clear potential for conservation impact to be considered for acceptance. Concepts can be from any sector (public, private, etc.) and can include ideas generated directly by CFA members, partner organizations, and independent organizations and entrepreneurs.
CONSERVATION FINANCE VENTURES
Conservation finance ventures accepted into the Incubator must be innovative ideas, create clear conservation outcomes, and may return a profit – either as an independent company or as a financial product. One major role of the CFA Incubator will be to demonstrate the economic viability and potential for success of such ventures and the resulting conservation outcomes. In addition, all Incubator entrepreneurs will be required to participate in various information sharing efforts to contribute to our understanding of the effectiveness of these various approaches. For example, profit-generating conservation finance ventures may provide many values for achieving conservation outcomes. Firstly, they may generate cashflow towards conservation activities by channeling profit towards certain conservation-positive activities. Secondly, positive conservation-based investments could result in substantial increased flows of capital towards conservation [through providing double or triple bottom line returns]. Thirdly, unlike most non-profit organizations that are dependent on raising grant money on a regular basis to implement conservation activities, profitable businesses or investments may self-finance – allowing a level of financial sustainability that is extremely difficult for non-profits. This combination of factors allow private sector conservation finance businesses and investments models to be both scalable and replicable – critical characteristics that will enhance the likelihood of successful conservation outcomes.
The focus for incubation of these conservation finance ventures is idea and early stage. Strong candidates for these ventures are entrepreneurs willing to invest their time and their own money to succeed. Desired outputs for these ventures might include the preparation of a business plan, an investors’ deck and/or financing from outside the Incubator.
CONSERVATION FINANCE CONCEPTS
Conservation finance concepts accepted into the Incubator will be innovative solutions to conservation challenges that use finance and economic tools to create conservation outcomes or sustained conservation financing while advancing conservation goals. These solutions may not seek to generate a private financial return on investment, yet they must show a significant financial or economic return on investment and target clear conservation outcomes. Innovative concepts that are sought here include policy or regulatory innovations that create enabling conditions for profitable conservation investments, including such ideas as new regulatory markets. Desired outcomes from the conservation finance concepts could include a completed feasibility study and an implementation guide to encourage pilots. Funding for pilots may also be included either through the Incubator or via partner organizations.
Application
The application is now closed. Please check back to this page for announcements about the selectees.