Building a Stronger System, Growing a Thriving Appalachia and Rural Southeast

We are dedicated to revitalizing and preserving Central/Southern Appalachia and the rural Southeast by supporting robust regional production and manufacturing in food, fiber and forest products.

Pineywoods Bull "Rocky", Photo by Mike Hansen of Ozark Akerz Regenerative Farm, North Carolina

Our History: We Are Closing Agriculture’s Resiliency Gap

Accelerating Appalachia was founded to help regional agriculture-based businesses and small farms access resources and expand opportunities in the growing market for regional commodities. Small-medium scale businesses and farms often lack access to resources available to larger businesses. Accelerating Appalachia was created to close that gap.

Launched in 2013, Accelerating Appalachia’s ten-week intensive business accelerator supports growth-stage businesses and producers in food, textiles, and forest products. As part of the ten-week intensive, we introduce our entrepreneurs to mentors, investors, accounting, legal, customer experience, financial modeling, peer support and more. In addition to the ten-week intensive, entrepreneurs receive up to two years of mentorship.

Surprisingly, when we launched, we received over 100 applications from around the world, accepting 11 regional businesses into our inaugural session. Ten years in, accelerator graduates have collectively leveraged over $40 million in investments.

We continue this mission through our Farmer Fund by supporting farmers who produce the raw goods for our regional manufacturers. Our Farmer Fund provides $12 million in cash incentives and $6 million in training and marketing assistance.

2013

With support from Appalachian Regional Commission, Accelerating Appalachia launched the world’s first regenerative agriculture business accelerator to serve Central/Southern Appalachia’s entrepreneurs and farmers.

2014

Accelerating Appalachia expanded its network of farmers and agriculture businesses across Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Tennessee. We developed an investor network for seed and scale funding focusing on growth-stage companies. This national network of investors, allowed Accelerating Appalachia to significantly increase its impact across the region.

2014

Partnered with Walnut Grove Farms, Woodford Reserve, and RiverBend Malthouse to facilitate the development of the first all-Kentucky-sourced distiller’s malt.

2015

Partnered with Warren Wilson College in Swannanoa, NC to train and connect sustainable agriculture business students and entrepreneurs.

2016

Brown-Forman, a $20 billion spirit and wine company, hosted Accelerating Appalachia’s accelerator participants, investors, companies, farmers and the public at their headquarters in Louisville, KY.

2017

Accelerating Appalachia brokered for Lush Cosmetics (a $1 billion personal care brand) its first botanical sourcing in North America in Central Appalachia, supporting a regional network of botanical growers.

2018

Expanded the program home base from western North Carolina to central Kentucky.

2020

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, restructured program to provide online consultation to businesses and farmers.

2023

Launched our $18 million Farmer Funding Program, an innovative program to pay farmers to build soil health across eight states in Central/Southern Appalachia and the rural Southeast.

2024

Accelerated our first three farmer cohorts and dispersed $2 million dollars in direct cash payments and services to farmers across Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, South Carolina, West Virginia, Virginia, Southern Ohio and Northern Georgia.