Cameroon Investment Development Hub
Cameroon is one of Africa's most forested countries, with tropical forests covering nearly 40% of its territory and forming part of the wider Congo Basin ecosystem. To help protect this vital resource, IDH established the Investment Development and PES Hub. A model to mobilise private and climate finance for sustainable agriculture, forest protection and improved livelihoods.
Catalysing private investment for deforestation-free agriculture
Cameroon lost an estimated 1.5 million hectares of tree cover between 2001 and 2020, nearly half of it primary forest, with losses now affecting most of the country's deforestation front areas.
Agricultural expansion, at both subsistence and commercial scale, is the main driver. Perennial cash crops including cocoa, palm oil, rubber and coffee, alongside food crops such as cassava, maize and plantain, underpin rural livelihoods but add pressure on remaining forests.
Cocoa plays a particularly significant role in the Centre, South and East, where multinational supply chains are increasingly sourcing as traditional producing countries face declining yields. Much of this expansion happens through small-scale, farmer-driven clearing.
A major barrier to change is finance. Smallholders and agri-SMEs face high perceived risk, limited collateral and financial products poorly suited to agricultural cycles. Many local enterprises are also not yet investment-ready, leaving a "missing middle": ventures too large for microfinance, too risky for commercial lenders.
This constrains the sustainable business models needed to align agricultural growth with forest protection.
Building on our track record in Cameroon
Since 2019, IDH has worked with cocoa companies, local authorities, farmer organisations and civil society on deforestation-free, climate-resilient cocoa production in Cameroon. Through our Green Commodity Landscape Program in the Grand Mbam landscape, we have convened multi-stakeholder coalitions, strengthened local governance and supported agroforestry, farm rehabilitation and traceability. We have also backed farmer cooperatives such as the Union of Cocoa Cooperatives of Mbangassina, strengthened community forest management across thousands of hectares, and advanced women's economic empowerment and youth employment. We bring the same approach to catalysing investment. Our reVive Investment Hub in Colombia has engaged 118 potential investees, developed over 35 investment roadmaps and structured close to 30 technical assistance initiatives, with a strong focus on women-led organisations. It has mobilised more than USD 4 million and built a finance network of over 30 investors.
The future of cocoa in Cameroon
Cameroon’s cocoa sector is at a pivotal moment. As global buyers seek more resilient supply sources, the country has an opportunity to strengthen its position through sustainable production, improved traceability and greater investment in farmers. IDH’s Cameroon Director, Christian Enouga Elomo, explains how growing collaboration and new market requirements could help boost livelihoods, protect forests and secure the sector’s long-term future.
Investment Development Hub in Cameroon
IDH and the Central African Forest Initiative (CAFI) have agreed to establish an Investment Development & PES Hub in Cameroon. The Hub will mobilise and de-risk private-sector investment in deforestation-free, low-carbon and climate-resilient agricultural value chains, while raising farmer incomes and strengthening forest protection.
How the model works
Access to finance for SMEs and cooperatives is channelled through technical assistance via a project preparation facility, paired with a seed capital facility connecting these cooperatives and SMEs to local banks and impact investors.
Alongside that sits a Payment for Ecosystem Services scheme that reaches smallholder farmers and local communities directly, building forest conservation, restoration, and agroforestry into how income is earned.
The Hub combines four components:
- Targeted technical assistance to cooperatives, SMEs and agribusinesses to strengthen business models and investment readiness
- Catalytic seed capital to bridge early-stage financing gaps and crowd in commercial finance
- A business and investment network linking enterprises to impact investors, banks and corporate off-takers
- A private-sector-driven Payment for Environmental Services (PES) mechanism, rewarding farmers and communities for verified outcomes such as agroforestry, reforestation and forest protection.
By 2030, the program targets the mobilisation of approximately USD29 million in private and climate finance, thousands of hectares under verified deforestation-free production and restoration, higher farmer incomes, job creation, and significant greenhouse gas emissions reductions and removals.
We will implement the Hub with companies, financial institutions, the CAFI Secretariat and the Government of Cameroon. Companies will act as co-investors, implementers and buyers of environmental services. The CAFI Secretariat will support alignment with regional and international forest and climate commitments. The Government of Cameroon will help create an enabling environment, including by working with the CAFI Secretariat on guidelines for credible PES practices.
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.
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.
