Yes, of course, it's an investment. It's an investment in the country's economy and in future employment.
The reason why we're experimenting with the idea of an accelerator fund is that if all these moneys were repayable, it would avoid the sort of traditional problems we've had with government investment, which is either politically or socially persuaded choices that didn't have sound economics. If the companies applying for these funds actually had to make the business case and say they would be repayable, that would mean (a) the fund would last forever, and (b) only wise investments would be made.
You could say that if it's a good business case, why not just borrow the money from the banks and what not. The answer is that we can, but it moves very slowly. The availability of cash for the forestry industry is very difficult.
If we want, as a nation, to see both the environmental and job performance of the industry enhanced, the idea is to use government money to accelerate the investment process.