The Congo Basin holds the world’s second largest tropical rainforest but remains severely underfinanced for sustainable land use. Most businesses are small and seen as risky, while investors cite a lack of bankable deals and weak market infrastructure. To address this, CAFI launched PRO-CONGO to unlock private finance for nature-based solutions by combining technical assistance, incubation and blended finance instruments such as concessional loans, guarantees and reimbursable grants. PRO-CONGO is a UNEP/UNCDF joint programme catalyzing nature-positive private investment across the DRC, Republic of Congo, Gabon, and Cameroon. It blends technical assistance with (repayable) grants, concessional loans, and guarantees to de-risk deals and crowd in co-financing. Phase I is CAFI-funded at $14.997M within a ~$29.57M envelope, targeting about $90M in leverage. Targets include loans to 4–6 mature firms and ~15 SMEs, ~7,000 beneficiaries, and up to ~6.16 MtCO₂e in avoided emissions.
PRO-CONGO: Catalytic Private Sector Investment in Congo Basin Natural Capital
Countries:
Regional
Topics:
Private SectorPayments for Environmental Services+2
Status:
Funds Transferred
Amount:
$ 14,996,738
Start Date:
11/04/2025
End Date:
01/12/2027
Implementing Organizations:
UNCDFUNEP
National Partners:
-
Objectives
ProCongo seeks to
- Build a bankable pipeline of enterprises aligned with CAFI’s Private Sector Investment Framework to scale inclusive, deforestation-free value chains.
- Catalyse private capital with blended finance (e.g., concessional loans/guarantees) and partnerships to crowd in co-financing.
- Promote sustainable land-use management to reforest, curb deforestation, and deploy sustainable agroforestry practices and technologies.
- Accelerate clean-energy access via strategic anchor investments to reduce emissions and pressure on forests.
- Link activities across sectors to create a self-reinforcing market cycle that compounds impact over time.
millions dollars approved
million dollars transferred
dollars spent by the project
Results to date
By mid 2025, the project has
- Identified and assessed a first pipeline of companies in agriculture, forestry and clean energy identified and assessed.
- Advanced two transactions through investment screening for blended-finance support.
- provided technical assistance to early investees to strengthen business models and environmental and social safeguards.
- Completed the design of its Incubation and acceleration programme, and mapped its network of local entrepreneurship support organisations
Documents
| Document Name | Date | Download |
|---|---|---|
 Project document - PRO-CONGO Catalytic - UNCDF/UNEP |
10/03/2025 |
Download 
|