The Carbon Accelerator Programme for the Environment (CAPE), an initiative to mobilise investment into projects across Africa which will cut carbon emissions and protect biodiversity while also benefitting local communities, today revealed its first cohort.
Selected from over 100 applicants across 28 African nations, the four early-stage projects from Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania and Zambia, will now receive support to get from the development phase to investment ready. They are:
- Gashaka Gumti Forest Carbon Project: one of Nigeria’s first nature-based carbon projects, facilitating the natural regeneration of forests in Gashaka Gumti National Park
- Rubeho Mountains Carbon Project: a community-based forest protection and restoration project in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania, a globally renowned biodiversity hotspot
- Barotse Rangelands for Restoration: a livestock enhancement and rangeland restoration project in Barotseland, Zambia
- Papariko Mangroves: a mangrove restoration project across three counties of southeastern Kenya
These four projects showcase the diverse scope of CAPE, and were chosen based on their level of development, potential impact including the delivery of tangible benefits to communities, alignment with carbon buyer and investor preferences and potential to replicate and scale.
CAPE was launched in November 2024 by FSD Africa, the UK-backed financial sector development agency, in partnership with the African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA) and Finance Earth – a leading international environmental impact advisor and investor in nature, climate, and community projects – to address the lack of early-stage funding for nature-based carbon projects in Africa.
CAPE aims to fill that gap by providing recoverable grant funding and tailored transaction advisory support necessary to advance projects to investment-readiness. Its partners strongly believe that by leveraging Africa’s nature as a powerful economic asset, there is a significant opportunity to advance local livelihoods, protect irreplaceable biodiversity and support climate resilience.
With 62% of Africa’s GDP reliant on natural capital[1] and a global annual funding gap for biodiversity of between US$598 billion and US$824 billion[2], CAPE aims to build confidence in Africa’s nature-based carbon markets and ultimately catalyse investment into Africa’s natural capital by focusing on high-integrity projects which have strong links with their local communities, materialised through equitable governance structures, with strong biodiversity outcomes and backed by up-to-date rigorous carbon methodologies.
“CAPE shows that Africa’s natural capital is not just a solution to the climate crisis, but a catalyst for tackling interconnected planetary challenges while unlocking fair and inclusive growth,” said Reshma Shah, the Carbon Markets Lead at FSD Africa. “These projects go beyond generating carbon credits—they are blueprints for redefining how the world invests in and values nature.”
“Unlike transactional carbon deals, CAPE’s chosen projects will generate revenue, livelihoods, and ecological value,” noted Dorothy Maseke, Head of the ANCA Secretariat. “We’re showing how Africa can harness its natural wealth to tackle both global crises and local poverty – while attracting investment from across the world and within Africa itself.”
“CAPE is empowering projects to unlock equitable financing and harness the true potential of carbon markets,” said James Mansfield, Managing Director and Co-Founder at Finance Earth. “This isn’t just about finance — it’s about enabling transformative solutions that strengthen communities and restore their critical natural assets across the continent”.
A brief overview of the selected four projects is below:
Gashaka Gumti Forest Carbon (Nigeria)
Gashaka Gumti is Nigeria’s largest and most biodiverse national park covering approximately 600,000 hectares and containing one of West Africa’s last intact montane rainforests. The project, led by Africa Nature Investors (ANI) Foundation and Africa Carbon Partners, uses Assisted Natural Regeneration to protect critical ecosystems and species like chimpanzees and pangolins. It targets 12 million tonnes of CO₂e emissions removals while delivering lasting community and biodiversity benefits, secured through a dedicated endowment fund. Working with local communities, the initiative is creating tangible community benefits including rehabilitation of schools, scholarships and micro-finance support for women-led Small and Medium Enterprises, at the same time as reducing pressures on the park.
CAPE selected Gashaka Gumti for its scalability and replicability to other national parks. As one of the first nature-based carbon projects in Nigeria, the team is setting the standard for best practice in the development of high-quality carbon initiatives.
Rubeho Mountains (Tanzania)
Eden: People + Planet’s Rubeho Mountains Carbon Project protects 260,900 hectares of Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains – a globally recognized biodiversity hotspot – while restoring 10,000 hectares of degraded afromontane forest. This transformative 40-year initiative safeguards the headwaters of both the Wami and Great Ruaha Rivers – critical catchments that support downstream communities, drive national hydropower generation, and underpin food and water security for millions.
The project aims to create sustainable livelihoods for over 90,000 community members across 40 villages, and aims to deliver 14 million tonnes of CO₂e combined emission reductions and removals. By addressing a 10-year deforestation rate of 6% – exceeding Tanzania’s national average – the project seeks to demonstrate how community-centred conservation can protect ancient forests that shelter endemic species and sustain essential ecosystem services at landscape scale.
Barotse Rangelands (Zambia)
Through the Barotse Rangelands for Restoration Project, Pro Green Earth and the Barotse Royal Establishment (BRE) are partnering to improve grassland quality, productivity, and biodiversity through community-driven rangeland management and traditional cattle-based livelihoods in Western Province, Zambia. Partnering with traditional leadership and local institutions, Pro Green Earth is leveraging climate finance to generate locally-led economic growth, expand sustainable use of natural resources, enhance the Barotse floodplains’ ability to provide ecosystem services, and support the Barotse people’s ability to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The project aims to generate an estimated 5.5 million tonnes of CO₂e removals over its 40-year lifetime.
CAPE has selected the Barotse Rangelands project as it showcases how large-scale carbon projects can be developed jointly with community, governmental and private stakeholders to deliver long-term impact.
Papariko Mangroves (Kenya)
The project is Kenya’s first registered blue carbon initiative on Verra’s registry and the only mangrove restoration project worldwide to achieve certification under Verra’s VCS, CCB, and SD VISta standards. Operating in Kwale, Kilifi, and Tana River Counties, along the Kenyan coast, the project has to date restored more than 250 hectares of degraded mangroves while improving livelihoods for vulnerable coastal communities, and deliver an estimated 1 million tonnes of CO₂e removals. Co-designed and co-managed with local stakeholders, the project aims to strengthen resilience through new income opportunities such as agroforestry, beekeeping, and ecotourism, with over 70% of local staff being women. By combining indigenous knowledge with cutting-edge science, Papariko aims to safeguard biodiversity, enhances fisheries, and protect communities from extreme weather.
CAPE selected Papariko for its governance structure with deep community involvement, its demonstrated impact to date and its potential to provide a scalable and replicable model for blue carbon initiatives worldwide.
For more information, please contact:
Kaara Wainana,
Ag. Director, Strategic Communications and Engagement, FSD Africa