The Foundation for the Conservation of Biodiversity (BIOFUND) is participating from August 25 to 28, 2025, in the 15th General Assembly of the Consortium of African Funds for the Environment (CAFÉ), held in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The event brings together 20 African conservation funds to create a strategic platform for cooperation, experience sharing, and mobilization of financial resources in support of biodiversity in Africa.

The opening session was attended by the Director-General of the Congolese Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN), which celebrates its centenary this year, dating back to the creation of Virunga National Park, the first national park in Africa. The meeting is organized by Fonds Okapi, a private Congolese environmental fund similar to BIOFUND, whose endowment reached USD 67 million in 2025.

According to CAFÉ President Théophile Zognou, the choice of Kinshasa to host the assembly reflects the importance of the DRC as the “green lung of Africa and the world,” due to its rich biodiversity and the fact that it encompasses much of the Congo Basin, considered one of the planet’s largest carbon reserves. The 2025 edition focuses on carbon financing mechanisms and innovative, inclusive, and sustainable financial solutions for conservation.

For BIOFUND, this participation reinforces its active role within the CAFÉ network and strengthens cooperation with other African environmental funds. This edition also stands out for the growing Lusophone representation, with the presence of representatives from Angola and Guinea-Bissau (BioGuiné Foundation), opening new avenues for collaboration between established and emerging funds in portuguese-speaking countries.

At this assembly, CAFÉ reaffirms the commitment of African funds to promoting conservation that benefits both nature and communities, ensuring respect for customary land rights and the free, prior, and informed consent of local populations. The organization also announced the publication of a best practices guide for fair carbon projects and is preparing the release of an annual report on the state of human rights in funded protected areas.

The event is supported by RawBank, the Bridge Project, The Nature Conservancy, and Fonds Okapi, reaffirming CAFÉ’s role as a catalyst for lasting financial solutions to protect African biodiversity.

Stay tuned to our pages for more information on this important annual event.