DFCD supporting sustainable bamboo production in Ethiopia
The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) is supporting a project to scale the sustainable and climate resilient production of bamboo in Ethiopia.
11 May 2022
An investment proposition of BIOALLEY B.V. (NETHERLANDS) (“AFRICAN BAMBOO”) will catalyse Ethiopian’s bamboo sector, supporting entrepreneurs to scale production and impact.
The DFCD’s Origination Facility Investment Committee has approved a proposal to support the development of a business investment plan at scale for sustainable and climate resilient production and transformation of bamboo in Ethiopia. Nearly 20,000 hectares of plantation and forest lands will come under sustainable management, and more than 12,000 jobs are expected to be created, with the project impacting the lives of 100,000 people.
With this approval, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation has the intention to sign a €350,000 grant funding agreement with of BIOALLEY B.V. (NETHERLANDS) (“AFRICAN BAMBOO”), together with a SNV technical assistance package to scale a business investment proposition related to the expansion of manufacturing bamboo-based construction and building materials.
This project is a Rio-marker 2 for promoting sustainable forest management, including adopting harvesting techniques to reduce soil erosion and exposure to wildfires. This promotes the conservation of biodiversity, which safeguards forest ecosystems from the impacts of climate change. This in turn improves farmer adaptability to climate change, while increasing resilience, sustainability, and household income diversification, as well as sustainable climate-resilient farming methods.
This origination project consists of:
Scaling Feasibility (technical and financial)
ESG support and GESI assessment
Forestry expansion support
Manufacturing expansion support
Comprehensive carbon project development
Multi-stakeholder engagement\
About the DFCD
The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development is a EUR 160 million fund from The Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs to improve resiliency of the most vulnerable landscapes, ecosystems, and communities through climate change adaptation.
The DFCD is managed by a pioneering consortium of Climate Fund Managers (CFM), Worldwide Fund for Nature Netherlands (WWF-NL) and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, led by the Dutch Entrepreneurial Development Bank, FMO.
For more information, please visit the DFCD website.
About SNV
SNV is a not-for-profit international development organisation that makes a lasting difference in the lives of people living in poverty by helping them raise incomes and access basic services. We aim for premium quality and focus on three sectors: agriculture, energy and water. With a long-term, local presence in over 25 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, we know how governments work and how relationships are built. Implementing our mission exclusively through project financing requires us to work efficiently and invest in operational excellence every day. Our team of more than 1,300 staff is the backbone of SNV.
About African Bamboo Group
This group was established in 2012 in both the Netherlands and in Ethiopia. In its home country, Ethiopia, deforestation had resulted in significant loss of native tree species, while the cost of importing timber from abroad became prohibitively high. Confronting these challenges, African Bamboo’s founders set out to utilise an otherwise unutilised resource. Bamboo is abundantly available with over 1 million hectares of natural bamboo forest in Ethiopia alone, which can be sustainably harvested at low cost. In 2011, a group of scientists and engineers decided to establish a bamboo processing industry in Ethiopia in collaboration with the German development organization GIZ. This marked the start of the African Bamboo journey.
You can read the full disclosure here.
For more information and if you want to share any confidential information you may have regarding the intended project or company please contact:
The Dutch Fund for Climate and Development: Mr. [Tigere Muzenda](mailto: tmuzenda@snv.org)