TerraFund for AFR100 Landscapes
Ghana Celebration & Onboarding
January 29-31, 2024 | Noda Hotel | Kumasi, Ghana
Workshop Agenda
The Onboarding Presentations are Linked in Blue Below:
Celebration & Communications Workshop | January 29
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Arrivals and Registration Moderator: Peter Ndunda, Senior Associate, World Resources Institute Africa |
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Opening Remarks from the Government of Ghana Isaac Charles Acquah, Director, Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Agency |
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Welcoming Remarks from the World Resources Institute Peter Ndunda, Senior Associate, World Resources Institute Africa |
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Our Partnership & TerraFund for AFR100 Karaya Karugu, Enterprise Manager, TerraFund |
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Recognition of the New Cohort Members Eunice Adofo Boanya, Project Manager, TerraFund Amanda Obuobi Amoako, Portfolio Specialist, TerraFund |
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Panel: Insights from Restoration Champions Moderator: Samuel Appiah Ofori, Project Manager, One Tree Planted Panelists:
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Closing Remarks & Adjournment Isaac Charles Acquah, Director, Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Agency |
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Jerin Tan, Communications Manager, TerraFund |
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Thacien Munyamahame, Community Coordinator, TerraFund |
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Internal Communication & Community Coordination Thacien Munyamahame, Community Coordinator, TerraFund |
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Telling Your Story: Interactive Session Jerin Tan, Communications Manager, TerraFund |
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Closing Remarks & Agenda for Tomorrow Jean Marie Ntakirutimana, Portfolio Specialist, TerraFund |
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Onboarding: Project Management & Monitoring | January 30
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Introduction & Welcome to the Workshop Eunice Boanya, Project Manager, TerraFund Amanda Obuobi Amoako, Portfolio Specialist, TerraFund |
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Deep Dive into TerraFund: Funders, Partners, and Responsibilities Karaya Karugu, Enterprise Manager, TerraFund |
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Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification Requirements Kevin Nfor Ntani, GIS Associate, TerraFund |
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Utilizing TerraMatch for Success Jubril Juma, Product Manager, TerraFund |
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Presentations from TerraFund Champions Moderator: Samuel Appiah Ofori, Project Manager, TerraFund
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Introduction to Project Management Samuel Appiah Ofori, Project Manager, TerraFund |
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Concluding Remarks & Agenda for Tomorrow Karaya Karugu, Enterprise Manager, TerraFund |
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Networking Cocktail - Noda Hotel |
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Onboarding: Getting Ready for Implementation | January 31
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2024 TerraFund Timeline & Milestones Karaya Karugu, Enterprise Manager, TerraFund |
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Quality Assurance: Submitting High-Quality Data Eunice Adofo Boanya, Project Manager, TerraFund |
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Individual Support Sessions: Understanding Your Project Each champion will meet with a TerraFund staff member to fill out a standard form and pose any remaining questions. |
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Concluding Remarks & Thanks Will Anderson, Senior Portfolio Manager, TerraFund |
Workshop Summary
Background
In 2015, Africa embarked on an ambitious journey of restoring 100 million hectares by 2030. As part of this initiative, the government of Ghana has committed to restore 2 million hectares. To accelerate the implementation of this ambitious goal, TerraFund for AFR100 was established in 2021. This consortium, consisting of World Resources Institute, One Tree Planted, Realize Impact, and Barka Fund, aims to provide the necessary financing and support to local communities involved in land restoration.
In September 2021, TerraFund for AFR100 opened its first call for proposals for projects and enterprises across Africa, receiving an overwhelming response of 3,200 applicants. From these, the first cohort of 100 projects and enterprises from 27 African countries were selected for funding, including 10 from Ghana.
In April 2023, aligning with WRI’s Restore Local project, TerraFund for AFR100 embarked on a new phase, to finance organizations and enterprises restoring land in three vital African landscapes: the Lake Kivu & Rusizi River Basin spanning Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Greater Rift Valley of Kenya, and the Ghana Cocoa Belt.
TerraFund was thrilled to announce the latest development in this journey: the second cohort of TerraFund, the “Landscapes” cohort. Drawn from these three landscapes, the new cohort comprises 92 projects – 78 non-profits and 14 for-profit organizations. In total these champions will receive $17.8 million USD, disbursed in grants, loans, and equity investments of $50,000-$500,000 USD each. Through 2030, this new investment is projected to make a substantial environmental and socio-economic impact by growing 12.7 million trees, putting under restoration 47,000 hectares of land, creating 52,000 temporary and full-time jobs, and benefiting 586,000 people living in these landscapes.
In Ghana alone, 15 organizations made it to the final selection including 11 non-profits and 4 for-profits. These Ghanaian restoration champions will receive $2.75 million USD in investment. This investment is projected to grow 1.9 million trees, put 14,000 hectares of land under restoration, create 4,500 jobs, and improve the livelihoods of 29,000 people.
Day 1 – Cohort Celebration & Communications Workshop
On January 29, TerraFund for AFR100 gathered restoration champions in Kumasi, in the heart of Ghana’s Cocoal Belt, to celebrate their recent investment and to prepare for the work ahead. Members of the TerraFund staff and Ghanaian government officials came together to congratulate this new cohort of Kenyan Restoration champions. They were welcomed by a rousing traditional drum and dance troupe, which brought the level of energy and excitement to new heights. Peter Ndunda, a Senior Associate at WRI Africa, served as host of the event.
Isaac Charles Acquah, the Director of Natural Resources at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Ghana, gave remarks about Ghana’s commitment to land restoration action. He reminded us of the potential impact that can be made by the people sitting in the room, emphasizing the significance of the investment in Ghana and its restoration movement. Peter then issued his words of welcoming, thanking the EPA, the Forestry Commission, and other government agencies for sending their representatives to the event and remarking on WRI’s decade-long collaboration with the government.
After a nine-month selection process, the audience was officially introduced to TerraFund’s 15 Restoration Champions from Ghana. Each partner was announced one-by-one and recognized by the audience and the dignitaries in attendance. Eunice Adofo Boanya and Amanda Obuobi Amoako roused the crowd to properly celebrate each champion, providing a kente cloth stole to each champion as they accepted their mandate. They then shook hands with the present government leaders and traditional authorities as the drum and dance troupe continued to celebrate their success.
The newly anointed restoration champions then heard from Karaya Karugu about the history and impact of TerraFund and the journey that they will embark on together. After a short break, the audience then had the opportunity to learn from a panel of four restoration champions – Tropenbos Ghana, Environment and Agroforestry Foundation, Fanteakwa District CCP, and Tilaa ¬– who offered sage advice about their experience and motivating calls to action for the years ahead. They were joined by Nana Kwaku Amankwah II, Chief of Bonsua, Offinso, and Member of the Offinso Traditional Council.
He explained the important role that traditional authorities play in Ghana’s land tenure regime and encouraged all champions to work closely with both national government officials and traditional leaders. The official close of the ceremony was made by Isaac Charles Acquah, spurring the newly established Ghana TerraFund community and the hard work and learning that will happen together over the following six years. He encouraged the restoration champions to take their mandate seriously and convince funders to redouble their investment in the Ghana Cocoa Belt.
In the afternoon, the champions and the TerraFund communications team gathered for a series of trainings and workshops. The champions received a crash course in communicating about TerraFund, including an inspiring example of easy-to-create communications products, and guidance on leveraging social media to tell their story. A small group of partners participated in a workshop to build the core messaging and branding of the Restore Local project, in collaboration with communications agency Havas. This group explored the values and narratives that are important to champions and communities in Ghana.
Day 2 – The Beginning of Onboarding
On January 30, Alvin Adu-Asare moderated. To start, Eunice Adofo Boanya and Amanda Obuobi Amoako led champions and TerraFund through an exercise to that allowed the whole community to meet and mingle, building the relationships we will lean on for the next 6 years. After this, Karaya Karugu dove deep into the details of the TerraFund initiative, identifying the roles of each partner in the consortium and explaining in detail how the team whittled down 73 applications from Ghana to 15 investments in less than nine months.
Kevin Nfor then introduced champions to the heart of TerraFund: the Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) framework. He explained the indicators that champions track and TerraFund verifies – from trees restored to jobs created – and walked them through the information that they report every six months over the next six years. Most crucially, he introduced champions to TerraFund’s leading geospatial data collection system, a skill that will be reinforced during an in-depth training later in the year. This ended with a test of understanding on the differences between concentrated and distributed projects. Jubril Juma then explained how champions can use the TerraMatch platform to create profiles of their projects, report on their progress every six months, and emphasized the importance of asking for support through the TerraMatch Help Center, email communication, or WhatsApp messages.
This message was echoed during Samuel Appiah Ofori’s presentation on TerraFund project management. He enthusiastically explained the importance of trust and remembering that the restoration champions and TerraFund staff are one team, with the same goal. He ended with another reminder for champions to lean on project managers and the entire TerraFund team, further emphasizing the importance of the community we are building.
Two champions from TerraFund’s “Top 100” cohort then presented their progress to their peers and gave advice on how to best succeed in a discussion moderated by John Ngahu. Mary Perpetua Kwakuyi had the audience captivated with an inspiring overview of Goshen Global Vision’s first TerraFund project in the Western Region. She highlighted the importance of continuing to mobilize community members long after the trees are planted. Then, Francis Brobbey of Private Afforestation Developers’ Organisation (PADO) explained his organization’s unique model of bringing together dozens of individual landowners to produce high-quality timber for the national market. He highlighted that even for-profit organizations can build Ghana’s restoration economy, tree by tree. Both partners emphasized the importance and honor of partaking in this community of champions and creating a restoration movement that outlives us all. To close the evening, everyone around the hotel pool for a night of dancing, friendly competition, and celebration.
Day 3 – The Culmination of the Onboarding and Celebration
Alvin Adu-Asare served as moderator again on the last day of the workshop. Karaya Karugu kicked off the last day of the workshop with what TerraFund expects of champions throughout their first year – from reporting to geospatial data collection – and what support champions can expect from TerraFund. Eunice Adofo Boanya then advised the champions on the qualities of excellent reports – based on TerraFund’s experience working with 100 champions across Africa – and how the team rigorously checks the accuracy and completeness of these reports before issuing payments.
Each partner then had time to meet with a member of the TerraFund staff in a personal support session, where they could ask questions in a more intimate setting and provide additional context. The assembled champions heard one last inspirational speech from Will Anderson, thanking the Ghanaian colleagues for their participation and hard work, now and in the future. He ended with a reminder to champions that they have a support system here in Ghana and across the globe.
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