Blue Catalyst Fund Backs Mangrove Projects In Gambia And Guinea In First Cohort

On Jun 18, 2026

The Blue Catalyst Fund, a new accelerator program aimed at solving blue carbon’s early-stage financing gap, has named its first cohort, selecting mangrove restoration projects in The Gambia and Guinea that together span roughly 51,000 hectares (over 126,000 acres) of coastal ecosystem.

The fund, jointly managed by nonprofit Fair Carbon and impact investment advisor Finance Earth, was announced Thursday as the first purpose-built, end-to-end accelerator for blue carbon projects.

It provides recoverable, milestone-linked funding alongside technical support and transaction advisory services, with no repayment required until projects secure follow-on investment, thereby addressing a financing gap that has long constrained the sector.

Mangrove ecosystems can store up to ten times more carbon than mature tropical forests, yet blue carbon credits account for just 0.35% of voluntary carbon market activity, and mangrove restoration failure rates can reach 80% in some regions.

Most projects stall early, hampered by fragmented technical expertise, high costs, and a scarcity of funding suited to coastal restoration’s risk profile, the companies said.

“If we want private capital to flow responsibly into nature, we have to meet it on its own terms,” Richard Speak at Finance Earth said, adding that this is exactly what Blue Catalyst Fund does by absorbing early‑stage risk, professionalizing project pipelines, and aligning ecological ambition with financial discipline.

Endorsed as an Action of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, the fund aims to support restoration or protection of 150,000 hectares, avoid or remove 32 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e), and unlock $275 million in private investment by 2035.

It is structured as a revolving fund, with returns reinvested into future cohorts, and is seeking additional philanthropic capital to expand.

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The first cohort includes the North Bank Ecosystem Restoration Trust in The Gambia, supporting conservation of 16,950 hectares of mangroves and benefiting more than 3,000 households, and a 34,000-hectare mangrove project in Guinea’s Forécariah and Boffa Prefectures, developed by West Africa Blue alongside Guinea’s government, expected to benefit 27,000 people.

Three technical service providers—TerraCarbon, Silvestrum, and Nika—will support the projects.

“The first cohort marks a turning point,” said Diana Denke, chief executive of Fair Carbon. “Blue carbon has had no shortage of strong projects or willing investors; what it has lacked is the infrastructure to connect them reliably and at scale.”

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