Accelerating Appalachia

Building Soil and Soul 2019
Appalachia is a world HUB
for sustainable businesses
Food, energy, agriculture, climate and community resilience,
so establishing the world’s first nature-based accelerator
to support these innovators was the natural next step.
Accelerating Appalachia is responding
to success and growing demand

Who We Are

Accelerating Appalachia is the first regenerative and just business accelerator program, established in 2013. We connect “basic needs businesses” in food, beverage, clothing, shelter and wellness to regenerative, inclusive business development training, peer businesses, mentors, aligned value supply chains, and investors committed to people, place and prosperity. We attract and scale post-revenue growth-stage businesses and their raw goods producers (farmers) with special consideration for entrepreneurs and farmers who are women, BIPOC, and from regions impacted by job losses in mining, logging, textiles and farming.

Communities
Our businesses support over 1000 jobs in food, forest products, fiber/textiles and wellness/health. Thousands of acres of farm and forests are in sustainable and regenerative cultivation.
Businesses and Farmers
$20.2 million investment leveraged by our program graduates.
Women
75% of businesses are women-led or co-led. We actively recruit BIPOC-led businesses and farmers.

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