• Germany, Norway and CAFI jointly committed $87 million to Canopy Trust as first-loss capital at COP30.

• The initiative aims to attract at least $500 million in private investment in deforestation-free value chains in Central Africa by 2035.

• Four pilot projects in Bankana will combine charcoal production and cassava processing under an integrated agroforestry model.

The Congo Basin hosts one of the world’s largest reservoirs of plant and animal species. Several initiatives continue to mobilise resources to promote environmentally responsible and zero-deforestation projects across the region.

In Belém, Brazil, the governments of Germany and Norway, together with the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI), announced on Monday, 17 November, a collective $87 million commitment to Canopy Trust. They made the announcement on the sidelines of COP30. The Catalytic Finance Foundation, a Switzerland-based organisation, launched Canopy Trust in early 2025 to promote private investment in sustainable, deforestation-free value chains across the Congo Basin.

The fund uses public capital to reduce investment risk and make projects more attractive to private financiers. The $87 million will serve as first-loss capital. In the event of project failure, public donors will absorb losses before private investors. Through this mechanism—supported by technical assistance—the promoters aim to leverage at least $500 million in private investment in Central Africa’s sustainable value chains by 2035.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which hosts around 60% of the Congo Basin’s forests, aims to capture the full benefits of the initiative. The Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development and the New Climate Economy, Marie Nyange Ndambo, pledged to speed up reforms to strengthen the business climate. “We are determined to accelerate reforms to improve the business environment, so investors can partner with us confidently and contribute to large-scale sustainable growth,” she said.

In the DRC, four pilot projects have already been selected to receive technical assistance and initial financing. They are located in the Bankana region, 115 kilometres east of Kinshasa, and combine charcoal production with cassava flour processing under an integrated model linking agricultural and energy value chains.

Canopy Trust states that the pilot initiatives aim to establish an agroforestry system based on smallholder farms and strengthen both forest and agricultural value chains to help local communities increase their incomes and improve food and energy security.

A feasibility study led by Canopy Trust shows that the DRC faces significant deforestation driven by slash-and-burn agriculture and unsustainable charcoal production. These activities cause the annual loss of about 0.5 million hectares of primary forest and 0.8 million hectares of secondary forest and woodland. Cassava, which accounts for 72% of the country’s primary agricultural output, is grown almost entirely through slash-and-burn practices, heavily contributing to deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. Canopy Trust estimates emissions at 629 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent in 2021.

The supported projects aim to curb these impacts by using acacia wood from plantations instead of timber from natural forests and by improving charcoal kiln efficiency. Such changes could reduce emissions by 90% compared with traditional methods. For cassava production, the proposed approaches could raise yields by up to 300%, empowering smallholders and creating jobs in integrated processing units while ensuring stable market access for their products.

This article was initially published in French by Boaz Kabeya (Bankable)

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum