Nuru and Viridian Ecosystems Announce Partnership to Champion Nature-Based Solutions through Cooperatives across East and West Africa

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 24, 2025

Contact: Casey Harrison | casey.harrison@iamnuru.org 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Nuru Collective is excited to announce its partnership with Viridian Ecosystems, an ecosystems restoration and natural capital advisory firm. This partnership seeks to scale Nature-based Solutions (NbS) and foster sustainable development in rural African communities. This collaboration will build on existing initiatives in Ethiopia and Ghana with expansion to all Nuru geographies by leveraging blended finance to drive ecological, economic, and social impact, along with financial returns.

Nuru-supported farmers in Ethiopia at a tree-planting location in South Ethiopia Regional State.

Nuru has a 17-year track record of professionalizing 411 cooperative agribusinesses across 6 countries, positively impacting over 456,000 people. As a global leader in agribusiness development, Nuru championed the global standard for farmer organization professionalism, ISO 18716, as a leading member of the Agribusiness Market Ecosystem Alliance (AMEA). As an example of its impact, in Ethiopia, Nuru-supported farmers achieved a 162% increase in income in 2023, a 130% increase in crop-equivalent yields, and 92% of farmers are adopting Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices. Moreover, during the last fiscal year, 100% of cooperative unions supported by Nuru in Ethiopia achieved profitability and exceeded professionalism benchmarks. Nuru is partnering with Viridian Ecosystems as it focuses on building investment-ready landscapes to secure anchor funding and establish baselines for large-scale NbS.

Nuru-supported farmers with their family members and Nuru Ethiopia staff at a tree-planting location in South Ethiopia Regional State.

Viridian Ecosystems specializes in ecosystem restoration and land-based finance, bringing expertise in forestry, agroforestry, and developing first-of-its-kind natural capital projects and financing models. The firm’s team focuses on designing and funding projects that deliver landscape ecological impact alongside compelling financial returns. Viridian’s work is increasingly urgent, as land degradation now affects 2.6 billion people globally, severely threatening food security and rural incomes.

“Our focus is largely around regenerating land, livelihoods, and legacy, and our collaboration with Nuru is centered on creating blended finance models that link agroforestry to natural capital. […] We are leveraging a diverse array of capital partners, from catalytic philanthropists to institutional asset managers, to develop in-country projects that generate positive impact on the ground and compelling returns for investors.” – Viridian Ecosystems Co-Founder and CCO Arnoud de Villegas 

This partnership is designed to champion the inclusion of smallholder farmers in carbon markets both equitably and fairly, ensuring that those most impacted by climate change also benefit from climate mitigation practices. Nuru and Viridian are seeking to attract diverse investors and partners interested in NbS that offer measurable and significant co-benefits to farmers and communities. 

Nuru-supported farmers in Ethiopia are prepared for tree planting, as they display thriving tree seedlings.

“Our partnership with Viridian Ecosystems marks a pivotal step in our updated community climate resilience strategy and cooperative development approach, which targets investment in places where Nuru already supports investment-ready agribusinesses or where Nuru local organizations are ready to scale. By implementing blended-finance to invest in people and places, we can de-risk and attract the private investment that accelerates scale while effectively managing risk for long-term sustainability.” – Casey Harrison, Nuru Chief Sustainability Officer 

The partnership’s model integrates several key elements that enable regenerative agriculture:

• Agroforestry Implementation: Delivering technical assistance through cooperative agribusiness structures to enable land managers to integrate trees into farming systems, restore degraded land, improve soil health, and diversify incomes.
• Carbon Credit Generation: Applying robust carbon standards and monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems to generate high-integrity carbon credits directly tied to farmer-led agroforestry.
• Community-Led Ownership: Ensuring that profits from crops and carbon improve livelihoods, food security, and climate resilience for communities through professional (ISO 18716 aligned) cooperatives, enabling long-term durability.

“First and foremost, we want to make sure there is community-led ownership. Our goal is to work with the local stewards because that’s what durability means to Viridian.” – Viridian Ecosystems Co-Founder and CEO Dr. Matthew Aghai

Dr. Matthew Aghai observes tree seedlings alongside Nuru Ethiopia staff at a tree nursery in Ethiopia.

Philanthropic giving serves as catalytic capital that supports professional cooperative agribusinesses and networks of farmers and pastoralists, de-risking these NbS investments and strengthening Nuru to attract essential private capital. This “stacked capital” approach provides foundational support and advanced technical assistance, enabling financial returns for later investors, including concessional capital and private capital from entities like tech companies seeking carbon offsets. Our approach will create a flywheel that is designed to create pathways for industries investing in these markets, and attract private infrastructure debt and equity funding.

By investing in this model, private capital partners will gain access to landscapes and communities ready to deliver verifiable carbon credits, diversified revenue streams, alignment with global ESG and climate goals, and strong, measurable returns with lasting impact for communities and ecosystems across Africa.

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About Nuru:

Nuru is a global collective that enables inclusive and sustainable prosperity by identifying communities at the stability tipping point, strengthening rural livelihoods and market systems, and fostering stabilizing connections that repair social fabric and pave a pathway to peace. Nuru envisions a world without cycles of unjust poverty, where resilience and hope are cultivated in the most marginalized communities. The Nuru Collective has local organizations in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Niger, and Nigeria. Learn more by visiting www.nuruinternational.org.

About Viridian Ecosystems:

Viridian is an ecosystem restoration and natural capital advisory firm. The expert team at Viridian’ works worldwide to catalyze restoration and land-based finance, designing and funding projects that aim to deliver landscape scale ecological impact alongside robust financial returns. Learn more by visiting www.viridian.eco.