Seedstars announces finalists of the DOEN Land Restoration Prize

Seedstars has announced Ethiopia’s Zafree Papers, South Africa’s GreenFingers Mobile and Ivory Coasts’s Lono as the finalists of its DOEN Land Restoration Prize.

The Swiss investor and emerging market startup organisation launched the prize in August in co-operation with the DOEN Foundation (Stichting DOEN) to find and award the best innovative solutions in the land restoration and land degradation space.

The two organisations said in a joint statement earlier today that over 220 applications were made for the prize.

The DOEN Land Restoration Prize winner will be awarded a $10 000 grant

Addis Ababa based Zafree Papers manufactures a 100% tree-free unbleached paper pulp and paper products using agro-waste. Every year, the company saves more than half a million trees from being cut as well as 30 000 tons of crop-residue from being set on fire.

Cape Town based GreenFingers Mobile is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology platform that enables organisations working with smallholder farmers to meet the criteria of food corporations and provide a transparent value chain.

In partnership with reforestation projects, the startup enables the tracking and monitoring of the disbursement and planting of trees by small holder farmers to counter the depletion of forests that small scale farming causes.

Abidjan-based Lono improve soil fertility through the development of an affordable, solar-powered composting box for smallholder farmers.

The three startups will be awarded a nine-month access to the Seedstars Investment Readiness Programme.

The hybrid programme challenges traditional acceleration models by allowing entrepreneurs to create their own personalised curriculum with online and on-site sessions, creating a unique mix to improve startups performance and get them ready to secure investment.

The DOEN Land Restoration Prize winner will be announced on 5 December at The Fox Junction — during the Seedstars Africa Summit that will be held in Johannesburg between 3 and 5 December — where they will take home a $10 000 grant.

Featured image: GreenFingers Mobile CEO Natalie Miller (GreenFingers Mobile via Facebook)