BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts (BNPP AM Alts) has made an equity investment into Rainforest Builder UK, a tropical forest restoration company operating in West Africa.
The investment, made through BNPP AM Alts’ Natural Capital and Impact investments strategy, was part of Rainforest Builder’s Series A financing round, led by BNPP AM Alts.
In parallel with the equity investment, BNPP AM Alts has committed financing for Rainforest Builder’s Project Colobus, a tropical forest ecosystem restoration project in Eastern Ghana’s Oti and Volta Regions.
Project Colobus restores extensive tracts of degraded land within the Upper Guinean Forest ecozone, a globally important biodiversity hotspot.
BNPP AM Alts said this transaction aims to support an established restoration-focused developer, while aiming to deliver project financing that will facilitate the production of high-quality carbon removal credits through forest restoration activities.
The funding will also allow the company to meaningfully accelerate its scientifically grounded, community-oriented ecosystem restoration work and further develop its proprietary restoration operating system, which integrates operational and ecological data, the manager added.
This investment aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 15 and 13, which aim to restore and conserve primary natural capital, thereby mitigating climate change and promoting biodiversity.
Alexandre Martin-Min, head of natural capital & impact investments, BNP Paribas Asset Management Alts, said: “West Africa is a region with significant opportunity for natural climate solutions, but reforestation efforts are currently underfunded. We chose to support Rainforest Builder in their mission given the team’s deep operational and scientific expertise in the region and their innovative approach to reforestation.
“Their approach balances ecological restoration with social and economic benefits, and we believe their projects have the potential to deliver significant biodiversity benefits, jobs and wider benefits to local communities.”
Ed Stephenson, co-CEO, Rainforest Builder, said: “We are thrilled to welcome BNPP AM Alts as an investor in Rainforest Builder and Project Colobus. Bringing institutional capital at this scale to ecosystem restoration in West Africa is a pivotal development for our company and the whole sector, demonstrating the value of tropical forests as natural infrastructure.
“Rainforest Builder’s four projects in Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Guinea have established both operational and commercial traction, and with this investment, we believe we are well positioned for continued growth in existing and new markets.”
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