The Alliance for the Great Green Wall

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Launched in January 2023 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Alliance for the Great Green Wall was a bold initiative spearheaded by Regenopolis. It aimed to create a collaborative platform of mission-aligned organizations to unlock the untapped potential of regenerative value chains across the Sahel, by directly supporting ecopreneurs and linking them to global markets. The Alliance sought to become a service ecosystem bridging local regenerative efforts with global capital, expertise, and corporate demand.

Challenge

Despite significant financial pledges and international momentum behind the Great Green Wall (GGW) initiative, local regenerative value chains have struggled to scale due to fragmented efforts, governance challenges, and limited private-sector engagement. The Alliance was born out of the 2022 strategic assessment co-led by Regenopolis for the World Economic Forum, which highlighted the critical role of high-impact tree crops (e.g. baobab, moringa, shea) and local SMEs in delivering both ecological regeneration and inclusive development. A systemic solution was needed to connect the dots—between supply and demand, capital and communities, potential and implementation.

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How Regenopolis helped

Approach

  • Design and coordination of an informal yet structured consortium of NGOs, business developers, agroforestry specialists, and carbon finance actors
  • Blueprint for a €100 million catalytic facility to fund early-stage regenerative businesses and value chain infrastructure through grants, technical assistance, and blended finance
  • Development of operational tools including a digital expert marketplace (RegenTimeBank™), an SME-friendly impact framework (RegenImpactIndex™), and a nature-based carbon sourcing platform (RegenX™)
  • Pilot project design in Senegal, in partnership with the national GGW agency, to serve as a proof of concept for community-centered sourcing, semi-industrial pre-processing, SME acceleration, and market linkages
  • Pipeline of over 30 projects identified, with a first cohort of ecopreneurs selected for support.
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Our partners

Our impact

The project resulted in significant outputs and outcomes

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Public launch

of the Alliance at Davos 2023, generating visibility and early support among public and private stakeholders

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Co-design of a comprehensive pilot program

in Senegal aligned with national priorities, mobilizing a committed ecosystem of local and international actors

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Strategic frameworks and implementation models

developed, ready to deploy with funding

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Consolidation of a powerful narrative

and operational architecture for systemic regeneration in the Sahel.

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Tested blueprint for holistic place-based regeneration

while the Alliance did not progress into full implementation - largely due to a deteriorating political environment across the Sahel, the initiative laid a valuable foundation: a tested blueprint, a unique coalition, and a vision for place-based regeneration that remains relevant.

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Case studies

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Regenerative Hospitality Retreat : Capacity building with 700’000 heures Impact and Dar Ahlam for independent hoteliers

Regenopolis partnered with Dar Ahlam to design and co-lead an immersive capacity-building retreat on regenerative hospitality independent hoteliers. Through a tailored one-day program and a 60-page workbook, selected hotel leaders were introduced to the mindset, tools, and frameworks needed to move beyond sustainability and embrace regeneration as a strategic pathway. The retreat fostered personal reflection, peer learning, and actionable strategies to support transformation across the SLH network.

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ESP Climate Hub : Mainstreaming regeneration in African Business Support

In order to accelerate the deployment of regenerative urban ecosystems, Regenopolis partnered with ES Partners to design a dedicated program embedding climate and nature considerations into the heart of SME support in Africa. Initially envisioned as a platform to catalyze regenerative city projects, this collaboration evolved into the creation of the ESP Climate Hub – a transversal initiative aiming to mainstream climate resilience, nature-positive development, and regenerative practices across all ESP activities.

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Unlocking pathways for land restoration in the Sahel

Regenopolis, commissioned by the World Economic Forum’s 1t.org initiative, conducted a strategic assessment to develop commercially viable pathways for land restoration in the Sahel. This project aimed to enhance tree-based agricultural value chains, supporting the African Union’s Great Green Wall initiative in ecological restoration, climate resilience, and local development.

Read this case study

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