Kjell Clarysse
Meet Kjell
Environmental Consultant
Brussels, Belgium
Kjell is the founder and former CEO of Forestbase, a forward-thinking company dedicated to protecting primary forests by positioning them as valuable natural and infrastructure assets. Leveraging his expertise in scaling tech ventures and startup growth, Kjell aims to make forest conservation economically sustainable by creating higher financial valuations for preserved forests.
Today Kjell is launching an Agro Accelerator with KBC Bank and 2 large farmer organisations. The focus is water, regenerative practices and aligning the interests of nature and agro, too often seen as obligatory rivals under the land use umbrella.
Areas of activity:
Funding & Investment
About:
Kjell focusses on innovations in the land use space, more specifically on the relation that exists between agro and nature, both typically competing for the same space. Rather than blaming one of the sides, the solution is in value recognition and land use strategy. Kjell currently launches a new Agro Accelerator with KBC Bank and 2 large sector organisations with the aim to scout, support and grow innovations that result in a better alignment of farmers and nature.
Before, Kjell has founded Forestbase, a nature conservation company that focuses on financially transforming primary forests into infrastructure assets. This makes forest conservation an investible asset class, worthy of being a stock listed category.
Through Forestbase, Kjell seeks to create a financially sustainable model for conservation, leveraging market mechanisms to unlock higher valuations for protected forests, incentivizing their preservation. His work highlights the integration of nature conservation with financial innovation, aiming to make ecological stewardship an integral part of the investment landscape. Local stakeholders and ownership ethics are an important part of this puzzle.
Before Forestbase, Kjell held leadership roles focused on launching and scaling tech-driven projects. At Start it X, he spearheaded a new vertical to support tech scaleups entering the Benelux market, establishing teams, models, and frameworks for operational growth. As Interim CEO of Beemit (now Pennyblack.io), an AGFA corporate spin-off, Kjell guided the company from R&D to its first paying clients, developing a market-ready product for a stock-listed chem-tech firm. His background also includes an Entrepreneur in Residence role at Bismuthlabs, research on technology and governance at the Itinera Institute, and the founding of Zerocopy, an advertising platform for students, which led to a successful acquisition.
Kjell’s expertise in entrepreneurship, technology, and strategic market development, paired with his commitment to environmental impact, drive him to identify the strongest long-term solutions for better alignment between agro, nature and local stakeholder’s interests.
Involvement:
FORESTBASE
Forestbase is an investment platform dedicated to preserving primary forests by converting them into high-value natural assets. Through strategic acquisition and protection of forests, Forestbase uses market dynamics to increase the financial value of conservation, making ecological stewardship profitable and accessible for investors.