Wilderlands have been selected to be part of the Melbourne Accelerator Program with the cohort to be revealed at the MAP Launch this Thursday.
The Launch will see over 600 guests pack the Plaza Ballroom at the Regent Theatre to witness the 11 teams presenting their successful pitches in front of the ‘who’s who’ of Melbourne’s startup ecosystem.
The Accelerator Launch has become one of the largest startup networking events in Australia, attracting investors, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders, all eager to discover the latest emerging entrepreneurial talent — with some of Australia’s most recognised startups including Phoria, Acusensus, Bardee, Carbar, Scratch, and Brosa having all taken the MAP Launch stage in recent years.
The highly-sought after accelerator is backed by the University of Melbourne and will provide Wilderlands with access to workshops, masterclasses, investor meets and pitch nights as part of a 5-month program designed to accelerate our growth.
Wilderlands CEO said the opportunity had proven particularly attractive given the connection to the University and its research, access to talent, and growing focus on biodiversity.
“There’s no doubt being aligned to the best University in the country and one that is globally recognised was attractive, but what was even more important was seeing the steps they’re taking in leading initiatives like the Biodiversity Council and Climate Futures – when we saw that kind of commitment we knew it’s a program we want to be part of,” said Knop.
“The chance to build our startup and gain advice from the brilliant minds at MAP is going to be invaluable, particularly as we navigate the burgeoning biodiversity market and how we can continue to play a leading role as one of the world’s first voluntary biodiversity credit developers.”
The program has a strong history of backing successful startups and its numbers stack up alongside the leading accelerator programs on the planet having helped over 240 startups, who have raised over $250m in investment, generated over $250m in revenue and created over 1,500 jobs.
Wilderlands looks forward to building on this legacy this year have protected over 60,000 square metres of vulnerable ecosystems and received recognition from major publications including The Wall Street Journal, World Economic Forum, Australian Financial Review, ABC, and many more in just 9 months since launching in August 2023.
Wilderlands are on a mission to protect Australia’s precious biodiversity; one square metre at a time and have developed one of the world’s first voluntary biodiversity units and created a platform to make it easy for individuals and organisations to start protecting nature today.
The Biological Diversity Unit (BDU) represents a 1sqm plot of permanently-protected and actively managed land in high ecological value projects across Australia.
Each unit is geotagged enabling supporters to zoom in and see the exact location of their units via their personal profile page and receive regular reports from expert ecologists on the ground and watch as nature flourishes thanks to their support.
Wilderlands have developed a proprietary methodology that leverages state conservation covenant regulations as well as incorporating leading ecosystem management practices designed by ecologists to promise permanent protection and help fund the first 20 years of project management.
Wilderlands currently support four projects across Australia including Coorong Lakes, Crowes Lookout, Alleena, and Budgerum which have attracted supporters ranging from individuals through to large organisations, philanthropists and several environmental advisory groups.
Learn how we can help you start protecting Australia’s precious biodiversity today.
