WEST AFRICA – Miro Forestry, a sustainable forestry and timber business with plantations in Ghana and Sierra Leone, has raised US$48 million in a fundraising round led by UK impact investor, CDC.
CDC led the financing round by committing a total of US$12 million while 4 other partners contributed the remaining balance to close the US $48 million fundraising round.
According to a statement by CDC, the deal affirms the UK impact investor’s newly launched climate change strategy to prioritise investments that combat the climate crisis.
According to the CDC, the commitment will protect about 2,000 direct jobs and boost further direct and indirect job creation over the next five years.
This investment in Miro strongly demonstrates CDC’s commitment to working towards alignment with the Paris Agreement, and to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, both in its portfolio and in each new transaction.
The additional commitment to Miro’s climate-focused business, will contribute to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals on: Climate Action, Decent Work and Economic Growth, Life on Land, and Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.
Miro’s large integrated forestry business is helping to reduce pressure on natural forests and protect ecosystems and livelihoods by sustainably meeting Africa’s growing demand for wood.
As such supporting plantation forestry is essential in addressing and combating the impact of climate change on local environments and communities across Africa.
Sustainably managing forests in Africa is particularly important because it’s a continent where deforestation and forest degradation is still increasing due to agricultural expansion, illegal logging and other reasons.
This latest investment by CDC builds on an existing commitment which has supported Miro in planting about 17,000 hectares (ha) of FSC approved eucalyptus, teak and acacia plantations, across Ghana and Sierra Leone.
CDC’s latest commitment will facilitate Miro Forestry’s plans to reach c.25,000 ha within the next five years, placing the business on track to become the largest sustainable integrated plantation forestry business in West Africa.
Moreover, the investment from CDC and other investors will enable Miro to maintain about 2,000 formal direct jobs, a number expected to more than double over the coming years, and countless indirect ones in remote areas.
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