Case Study: Carbon Ventures Africa (CVA) & Treeconomy
Scaling Community-Led Reforestation in the DRC
Case Study
Project Development
Jul 30, 2025
Carolina Amu Trujillo
Carbon Ventures Africa (CVA) is pioneering a large-scale, community-led reforestation project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. To unlock finance and meet rigorous verification standards, they needed to build a credible carbon case in a data-scarce region. Partnering with Treeconomy, CVA used advanced early-stage assessments to validate their approach, expand the project's scope, and secure the investor confidence needed to scale.
The Mission: Restoring Forests and Empowering Communities at Scale
CVA’s flagship initiative, the Grand Katanga Reforestation Project, is driven by a powerful, community-led approach. In a region often defined by its fragility, CVA puts local communities at the heart of the solution.
"What makes the Grand Katanga Reforestation Project truly remarkable... is that it is a bottom-up initiative driven by local communities and, despite that, can achieve remarkable scale," explains Andrew Gaines, Co-founder & Director at CVA.
The project works with families who live on the land, empowering them to lead the design and implementation of restoration plans. By securing long-term carbon and land rights for community associations, the project provides access to the capital and training needed to restore the disappearing Miombo woodlands. The goal is a model where communities are not just beneficiaries, "but co-architects of their future."
The Challenge: Building a Credible Carbon Case in a Data-Scarce Environment
To bring this ambitious vision to life, CVA needed to attract investors and navigate the technical demands of Verra’s VM0047 methodology—a significant hurdle in southern DRC, where reliable data is limited.
Their primary challenge was clear: establishing a credible carbon business case.
"As a project developer, it’s critical to understand how much carbon can realistically be removed over time—and that depends on accurate, site-specific biomass estimates," notes Andrew. They had deep on-the-ground expertise but needed a remote sensing partner to model biomass potential accurately, assess site eligibility, and set credible baselines for a project spanning tens of thousands of hectares. Without this, gaining the confidence of investors and carbon buyers would be impossible.
The Solution: A Data-Driven Foundation for Validation and Growth
Treeconomy's early-stage assessments provided the robust, data-driven analysis CVA needed to move forward with confidence. The collaboration focused on three key assessments:
Project Site Eligibility, Biomass Estimates, and Dynamic Performance Benchmarking.
These tools were essential for bridging the data gap. By combining advanced remote sensing with field calibration, Treeconomy’s analysis gave CVA the technical evidence required to advance through the Verra validation process.
A pivotal insight came from the Project Site Eligibility assessment. The CVA team initially assumed that only the most visibly degraded patches of land would qualify for Afforestation, Reforestation, and Revegetation (ARR) activities.
"Combining Treeconomy’s analysis of historical satellite data and field sampling revealed that all the areas under consideration had experienced degradation or deforestation over the past two decades," says Andrew. "That realisation fundamentally expanded the scope of the project."
This discovery was a game-changer. It validated CVA's strategy of blending direct planting with assisted natural regeneration (ANR), significantly improving the project's economics and carbon potential. It allowed them to scale their impact more efficiently across vast, community-managed lands.
The Partnership Experience: Collaborative, Adaptive, and Essential
For a pioneering project implementing a rigorous new methodology in a complex biome, an off-the-shelf solution would not work. Andrew highlights the nature of the partnership as a key factor in its success.
"Our experience working with the Treeconomy team has been highly collaborative and adaptive—exactly what’s needed for a pioneering project like this," he says. "They worked closely with us in an iterative way—testing approaches, revisiting assumptions, and adjusting their modelling to ensure it met the specific needs of our project, our investors, and the Verra process."
This flexible, problem-solving approach created a foundation of trust.
The Impact: Unlocking Finance and Accelerating Community Benefits
The tangible outcomes of the collaboration are clear and significant. Treeconomy's work provided the credibility needed to unlock critical funding and de-risk the project for key stakeholders.
As Andrew states directly: "We wouldn’t have gotten anywhere near as far through the Verra process or have raised money from investors like the US Development Finance Corporation without Treeconomy’s expertise."
By refining the project's scope and validating a more efficient restoration strategy, the partnership has also had a profound strategic impact. It has enabled CVA to "bring forward the flow of benefits to communities—jobs, reinvestment funding, and ecosystem recovery—making the entire model more viable, more scalable, and more durable."
Aspirations: Scaling to 100,000 Hectares and Beyond
With a solid foundation and a validated model, CVA's focus is now on securing the finance to scale—first to 30,000 hectares, with a long-term ambition to restore over 100,000. Data and technology, Andrew notes, will remain central to underpinning the integrity and performance of the project as it grows.
Key Advice for Fellow Developers
Based on his experience, Andrew offers a crucial piece of advice: "Don’t rely on generic models. Partner with people who are willing to get into the weeds with you, because that’s where credibility and long-term impact are built."
Ready to Build Your High-Integrity Project?
Carbon Ventures Africa's success showcases how a data-driven, science-backed approach can unlock the potential of ambitious nature-based projects, even in the most challenging environments. If you're developing a nature-based carbon project, Treeconomy is here to help you navigate the complexities and maximise your impact with confidence.
Learn More About Our Services: Discover how our Project Launchpad can support your project's journey from concept to certification with assessments like Project Site Eligibility, Carbon Projections, and Dynamic Performance Benchmarking.
Ready to Move Forward? If you're looking to de-risk your project, ensure compliance, and attract investment, get in touch with our commercial team today to discuss your specific needs.
