The Restoration Seed Capital Facility Welcomes hummingbirds as Inaugural Project Development Partner to Accelerate Private Investment in Forest Restoration
Frankfurt and Geneva, 26 January 2026
The Restoration Seed Capital Facility (RSCF) is pleased to announce a new partnership with hummingbirds as its inaugural Project Development Partner.
Through this partnership, RSCF will provide financial support to accelerate hummingbirds’ efforts to identify and develop a robust pipeline of investable nature-based solutions. These investments will contribute to the protection, sustainable management, and restoration of forest ecosystems across Central and South America, Southeast Asia, and Africa.
Ivo Mulder, Head of the UN Environment Programme’s Climate Finance Unit said: “Our latest State of Finance for Nature report shows that only 10% of total investments in nature-based solutions is coming from private entities. The share of private investment with climate- and nature-positive impact must scale dramatically this decade. Following the extension of eligibility to project developers by the Restoration Seed Capital Facility (RSCF), hummingbirds is our inaugural project development partner. With RSCF’s support they are able to further build a credible, investment-ready pipeline of high-quality restoration projects.”
About hummingbirds
hummingbirds is a French nature-based solutions project developer dedicated to addressing the intertwined climate and biodiversity crises through community-driven conservation, restoration and sustainable management. By supporting the early stages of nature-based carbon projects -typically financing pre-feasibility studies, feasibility studies and pilot phases -hummingbirds substantially de-risks projects for subsequent full-scale investment.
hummingbirds operates mainly across Africa, Latin America, Brasil and Southeast Asia through teams based in six global offices: Paris, Accra, Nairobi, Mexico City, São Paulo, and Melbourne. Through their operations, hummingbirds aims to sequester or avoid carbon emissions equivalent to at least 70 million tons of CO2e, sustainably manage at least 1 million ha of land, protect habitat for 300 IUCN threatened species and directly improve the livelihoods of more than 1 million people, including 80% women by 2030.
Through RSCF support, hummingbirds will develop investments focused on REDD+, afforestation, reforestation and revegetation (ARR), Improved Forest Management (IFM), and blue carbon. RSCF support will be predominantly directed toward early-stage projects to share development risk and strengthen capacity for rigorous project assessment, ensuring a high-quality and credible investment pipeline.
Anaïs Bach, Co-Founder and CEO of hummingbirds, said: “Founded in 2022, hummingbirds’ ambition is to support the emergence of a high integrity carbon market, championing the creation of scalable, high-quality projects that truly make a difference. Joining this program is an exciting milestone – empowering us to continue providing catalytic finance right when it’s needed most, unlocking early-stage capital to fuel transformative impact. This achievement also celebrates our team’s dedication, expertise, and vibrant pipeline, as we successfully navigated rigorous due diligence. Together, we’re humming a future of meaningful climate action! ”
About the Restoration Seed Capital Facility
Supported by the governments of Germany and Luxembourg and implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, the Restoration Seed Capital Facility is a unique initiative designed to catalyse investment in forest and landscape restoration. The Facility contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and supports the objectives of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, the Bonn Challenge, and the Rio Conventions, including the Paris Agreement, Land Degradation Neutrality targets, and global biodiversity goals.
The Restoration Seed Capital Facility aims to significantly scale up forest and landscape restoration during the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030). Launched in October 2020, the Facility is open to applications from fund managers and project developers running investment vehicles or projects targeting restoration-aligned activities.
For more information, please visit the Restoration Seed Capital Facility website or contact the team at info@restorationfacility.org
