FXT25: Creating Value in the Food System

Early this year, Start it @KBC, the No. 1 accelerator in the Benelux, launched the "Scale it Agro" program – a brand new accelerator that accelerates the market introduction of sustainable innovations in the agrifood sector. This nine-month trajectory offers an exclusive selection of twelve start-ups and scale-ups from home and abroad access to expert advice, commercial connections, fundraising support and in-depth sector insights. Supported by: 🤝 KBC, Arvesta, Agri Investment Fund (AIF), Boerenbond and Cera

The man behind Scale it Agro

The driving force behind this initiative is, a born entrepreneur with a deep-rooted passion for agriculture and nature. His professional experience in East and West Africa and Colombia confronted him with a crucial challenge: the underestimated value of natural and agricultural land. With climate change and extreme weather as growing risks, insurers are under pressure from the impact of deforestation and poor landscape management. The question is: "Should we start seeing agricultural land as the new gold?" The tagline on Kjell's LinkedIn page gives a hint: "Nature is Infrastructure - Financial innovation for nature and sustainable agriculture."

🔥 Discover Kjell's revolutionary vision on value creation in the food system at FXT25 on Thursday 24 April!

BIO - Kjell Clarysse

Kjell is a seasoned entrepreneur with profound expertise in natural infrastructure and climate finance. He has been the founder and CEO of Forestbase, a Swiss company that acquired 83500 hectares of rainforest in Colombia for protection. The company focusses on leveraging financial markets for conservation and enables this through the development of new financial instruments. He has received recognition for this pioneering work at NOAH and Stanford University. Kjell also has several years of experience in Uganda and Senegal and built an overall deep understanding of landscape economics and the strong link with food production and security. He currently leads Scale it Agro, a consortium including KBC, Arvesta, Boerenbond, AIF, CERA, and Start it X, accelerating companies in sustainable-resilient agriculture and he advises several natural infrastructure projects on their financial structuring.