IDH and CAFI launch Investment Development & PES Hub in Cameroon
Cameroon / Geneva, September 2026
IDH and the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) have signed an agreement to establish an Investment Development & PES Hub in Cameroon (the “Hub’’). The Hub is designed to mobilise private and climate finance for sustainable agriculture, forest protection and improved livelihoods, supported by approximately USD 25 million in CAFI financing and targeting an additional USD 29 million in private investment by 2030.
The Hub will combine four components:
- Technical assistance to strengthen investment readiness of cooperatives, SMEs and agribusinesses
- Catalytic seed capital to bridge early-stage financing gaps and crowd in commercial finance
- A business and investment network connecting enterprises with investors, banks and off takers
- A private-sector-driven Payment for Environmental Services (PES) mechanism, linked to CAFI’s PES platform and verification framework, rewarding farmers and communities for verified outcomes such as agroforestry, reforestation and forest protection.
Cameroon’s tropical forests cover nearly 40% of the country and form a critical part of the Congo Basin ecosystem. Yet an estimated 1.5 million hectares of tree cover were lost between 2001 and 2020, of which close to half occured within primary forest. Agricultural expansion, particularly cocoa, alongside palm oil and food-crop expansion is a leading driver.
A major constraint to the transition towards sustainable and deforestation-free agriculture in Cameroon is the limited access to appropriate and affordable finance. The Hub complements the wider Cameroon–CAFI partnership, which supports sustainable agriculture and forest protection across multiple initiatives.
The Hub builds on IDH's work in Cameroon since 2019 through the Green Commodity Landscape Program (GCLP) in the Grand Mbam landscape, supporting cocoa agroforestry, farm mapping, community forest management, market access for cooperatives, and women's economic empowerment. The Hub also draws on IDH's experience catalysing private investment and supporting sustainable agri-SME growth through integrated technical assistance and blended finance. Through its model, the Hub aims to build a portfolio of investable projects that deliver economic and environmental benefits for farmers, communities, and ecosystems.
The Hub will be implemented by IDH together with companies, financial institutions, CAFI and the Government of Cameroon. Private-sector actors may participate as co-investors, implementation partners and buyers of environmental services. CAFI is financing the programme and supporting its performance-based approach, in line with the Cameroon–CAFI partnership and with regional and international forest and climate commitments. The Government of Cameroon, though the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Regional Development (MINEPAT), provides strategic direction within the Cameroon–CAFI partnership, including guidelines for credible PES practices aligned with national priorities.
This partnership with CAFI marks an important milestone for IDH’s work in Central Africa. By combining our long-standing landscape engagement in Cameroon with blended finance and performance-based incentives, we aim to unlock private investment at scale while delivering concrete benefits for farmers, forests and the climate.
Mobilising the private sector is essential to achieving lasting forest protection in the Congo Basin. The Investment Development & PES Hub in Cameroon demonstrates how private investment can translate commitments into action, linking finance, climate ambition and sustainable development on the ground.
The Government of Cameroon is committed to reconciling our agricultural development ambitions with our forest protection and climate commitments. Through our partnership with CAFI Secretariat we aim to develop an enabling environment for the project, ensuring that private investment translates into concrete benefits for our farmers, our forests, and the priorities set out in our Letter of Intent with CAFI.
