ABOUT THE PROJECT
What is it about?
Every minute, the equivalent of 36 football fields of forest disappears globally, while 114 cars are produced. At Afforestt, they create natural, wild, maintenance free native forests, in the cities and their surroundings. It is thanks to a technique that makes trees grow 10 times faster than in nature (cf. Dr Akira Miyawaki, a Japanese botanist and plant ecology expert).
Started in January 2011, Afforest is a for-profit social enterprise working as a service provider to re-establish green cover. In 2015, they put everything they know open source, enabling anyone to grow forests!
Quick overview
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Creation date: 2011
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Country of origin: INDIA
Impact
450 026
Planted trees
138
Native forests created
44
Cities
10
Countries
Business model
Afforestt is a for-profit social enterprise that doesn't rely on grants.
Discover more
ABOUT THE FOUNDER
Shubhendu Sharma
An industrial engineer turned multi-awarded social entrepreneur, Shubhendu is Afforestt’s founder and director.
He was an engineer at Toyota when he discovered Miyawaki’s afforestation method - which he thought was the most efficient way to grow forest in a cost-efficient and sustainable way. He experimented growing a forest in his 753 square feet backyard… And the adventure began!
Background & awards
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Ashoka Fellow
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INK Fellow
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TED Fellow
WHAT WILL YOU LEARN?
In our Discovery program you will learn in details about:
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Afforestt (Vision, Story, KPI's, Impact, Business model)
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Shubhendu's entrepreneurial path & mindset (First steps, Main learnings, Pivots)
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His partnership proposal (Long term vision, Collaboration terms, partner's profile, etc.)
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What it means to replicate the same concept (Daily life, Possible business models, Necessary skills)