This document discusses developing bankable business plans for forest restoration projects. It notes that private finance can complement public investments to achieve large-scale restoration. Restoration projects will be more sustainable if they improve local incomes and livelihoods. However, there are barriers to accessing finance for restoration projects like limited knowledge of business planning and unclear profit potential. The document introduces a learning guide to help forest producers develop bankable business plans for restoration projects. It outlines the structure of the guide and how it provides practical, sustainable guidance by putting knowledge into practice. The guide aims to develop a pipeline of investable restoration projects.

1. Photo
by
Axel
Fassio/CIFOR
#RestoreTogether
bit.ly/FLRForum
Developing bankable
business plans: A learning
guide for forest producers
and their organizations
Marco Boscolo, Petri Lehtonen, and Alex Pra
1

2. • Private finance can complement public
investments to achieve restoration at scale
• Restoration will be more sustainable if it
improves local incomes and livelihoods
• Opportunities to transition beyond
subsistence: business and professionalization
Restoration through a business lens
2

3. An unrealized opportunity
Restoration and value chain development
• Social benefits (jobs, healthy communities)
• Environmental benefits (climate adaptation, resilience,
mitigation; biodiversity conservation)
• Economic benefits (incomes, value creation)
Barriers to access finance
• Limited knowledge on the business planning process
• Unclear earning logic and potential to scale up
• Weak understanding of investor’s or creditor’s criteria
1
2
3

4. A pipeline of bankable forest-based projects must match investment
interest
Building a pipeline of projects
4

5. Developing bankable business plans
No advanced technical knowledge necessary to
use the guide
Accessible
It’s a hands-on guide that puts
knowledge into practice
Practical
It promotes businesses and solutions that deliver
triple wins: economically, environmentally and
socially sustainable
Sustainable
http://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cb4520en
5

6. Evidenced business
idea
Scalable
assets
Committed and
competent
management and
organization
Assessment of market
participants and
marketing strategy
Assessment of
business environment
and legal issues
Market outlook
Financial
analysis
ESG criteria
Risk
assessment
Applied technologies
and logistics
From idea to sustainable business
6

7. Module structure
• Description
• Real world examples that illustrate business planning
components
• Ready-to-use web-based tools
• Links to useful references, reports, articles,
documents and databases
• Checklists to keep track of compliance requirements
7

8. • E-learning course
• Capacity building program in support of programs
(TRI, FFF) and projects
• Partnerships with incubator and mentorship
platforms, Restoration Factory (UNEP FI)
Moving forward
8

9. #RestoreTogether
bit.ly/FLRForum
Thank You
Marco.Boscolo@fao.org
9

10. Photo
by
Axel
Fassio/CIFOR
#RestoreTogether
bit.ly/FLRForum
Closing the restoration
project-investment gap:
RSCF and the Restoration
Factory
Jonathan Gheyssens - UNEP
10

11. To achieve restoration objectives,
restoration finance pipelines have to
be built at scale
Capital
raised
Pipepline
development
Project
investment
support
Capital raised
Restorative opportunities
created
Restoration
Business
Idea
validation
Minimum
Viable
Project
Project
Expansion and
growth
Restorative
businesses
created at
scale
11

12. Main obstacles:
Pre-investment stage resource-intensive and
risky.
Fund managers often have limited funding
available to cover this resource-intensive stage
Result is reduced pipeline of investment
opportunities and, ultimately, reduced levels of
investment in FLR.
Although there are an increasing number of private
sector investors active in FLR, funding is not being
deployed at the scale needed.
Why is the RSCF needed?
12
12

13. Support lines provided by RSCF
Support Line 1: Fund
development
--------------------------------------
18-24 Months
(Max. USD 750,000)
--------------------------------------
Conditional grant. Up to 50% of
eligible costs.
---------------------------------------
Type of eligible costs:
Legal set-up costs
Travel costs
Marketing materials
Raising new fund
Existing Fund
(in investment cycle)
Support Line 2: Pipeline
development
---------------------------------
Grant. Up to 50% of eligible costs
---------------------------------
Type of eligible costs:
Travel costs
Feasibility studies
Business case development
Establishment of geographical
presence
Support Line 3: Project
development
---------------------------------
Conditional grant. Up to 50% of
eligible costs
---------------------------------
Type of eligible costs:
Legal and fiscal studies
Due diligence costs
Travel costs
Environmental and Social risk and
impact monitoring
2 – 4 years (Max. USD 2,500,000)
1/3 2/3
13

14. RSCF’s outputs
• Minimum of 6 new funds created, with USD 90
million raised for forest restoration projects.
• Minimum of 20 projects invested, with USD 80
million being invested on the ground in developing
countries for forest restoration projects.
• Active knowledge management and outreach to
leverage impact of project to move the whole sector
of private investment in forest restoration forward.
• Greater interest, greater recognition, greater scale,
leading to greater contribution to goals of the UN
Decade on Restoration.
14

15. The Restoration Factory:
Towards accelerated bankability
The Restoration Factory is an e-learning program that assists
restoration entrepreneurs in developing enticing and attractive
business models of restoration.
It harnesses the expertise of a community of private sector
mentors who are committed to guide their mentees through
each step of their business discovery journey.
It is practical, solution-oriented and evidence-based, promoting
a scientific method of verifiable experimentations, through
assumptions, tests and validations.
At the program’s end, each participant will have prepared a
business plan that best represents its economic and financial
potential, paving the way for a fruitful engagement with investors
and donors.
15

16. - The Program’s platform is powered by the
leading social enterprise Bridge for Billions,
which has trained more than 1500
entrepreneurs in 70 countries, with a 70%
success rate after two years
- The mentorship curriculum is built on the
renown MIT’s disciplined entrepreneur
program, supplemented with FLR content by
FAO, IUCN, UNEP, P4F, WWF and others
- The Factory has established links with
incubators, impact investors and large-scale
initiatives to allow for rapid upscaling
The Factory capitalizes on best-in-class resources from
a coalition of entrepreneurship and FLR leaders
A unique coalition
1. A co-developed curriculum
2. An innovative platform
3. With pre-established connections to investors and fund
facilities
16

17. Value Proposition
Entrepreneurs can understand
the problem they are solving,
the opportunities in the market,
the needs of the customers and
the benefits of their product.
Competitors map
Entrepreneurs can identify the
strengths and weaknesses of
their offering, how they stand
out from the competition, and
find their true competitive
advantage.
Stakeholders map
Entrepreneurs can identify the
different partners they need to
launch their business and create
a map of their partner networks
and distribution channels.
Business plan & Marketing
Entrepreneurs can have a clear
idea of the essential activities
for their business to grow and
learn how to attract customers
and keep them coming back.
Pricing Financial Projections Impact Plan Growth plan
Entrepreneurs understand the
costs of attracting their
customers and discover the
optimal price that will make their
business financially viable.
Entrepreneurs are guided through
the identification of their costs
and income, carry out various
financial scenarios and determine
when they will break even.
Entrepreneurs can see how they
fit into the larger system, define
their mission and vision,
determine the desired social
impact, and learn to measure it
accurately.
Entrepreneurs build a viable
growth plan, establish objectives
for the next 3 years, anticipate
risks and define mitigation
strategies to be always prepared.
The Factory’s 8 Business Tools
1

18. The path forward: catalyzing
the UN Decade on
Restoration
As we move into the UN Decade on Ecosystem
Restoration, the ambition of the Restoration Factory
Platform is to achieve systemic transformation and
become a key toolkit for other reforestation initiatives
across agencies and programs.
As the program expands its reach, the Factory will be
opened to any interested institutions eager to turn their
FLR ideas into bankable investments.
Contact us to know more about our initiative, the
platform, and what it can do for your own programs.
18

19. #RestoreTogether
bit.ly/FLRForum
Thank You!
www.restorationfacility.org
info@restorationfacility.org
www.restorationfactory.org
info@restorationfactory.org
19

20. Photo
by
Axel
Fassio/CIFOR
#RestoreTogether
bit.ly/FLRForum
Amanda Gant, WRI
20