Introduction

The African Forest Forum (AFF) is organizing a series of eLearning webinars on business development services (BDS) aimed at empowering youth, women, and local enterprises to participate in deforestation-free supply chains. These webinars will be complemented by in-person training sessions focused on practical skills development for promising youth, women, and small businesses.

This first webinar will provide an overview of sustainable business opportunities across key nature-based value chains, including:

• Timber
• Non-timber forest products (NTFPs)
• Bioenergy
• Bamboo

It is designed to equip youth and start-up enterprises with the knowledge and tools needed to:

• Identify viable entry points into forest-based value chains
• Develop bankable business cases
• Scale climate-smart and sustainable ventures

The webinar is part of the project:
“Scaling Youth-Led Climate Innovations for a Greener Africa: Enhancing Compliance with EUDR through Sustainable Land Management and Landscape Restoration.”

Objective

To highlight a range of climate-smart green business opportunities and pathways for youth, women, and local enterprises to engage in and compete within deforestation-free supply chains.

Specific objectives

1. Enhance understanding of climate-smart green business opportunities—including timber, NTFPs, bioenergy, and bamboo—that contribute to climate change mitigation, adaptation, and youth-led enterprise development.
2. Demonstrate how these opportunities can be translated into viable, low-emission, and climate-resilient business models, start-ups, and scalable ventures.
3. Strengthen the capacity of youth and institutions in evidence-based planning, reporting, and decision-making to support climate action and green economic transformation.

Programme: BDS Webinar Series 1

Date: March 25, 2026
Moderators: Tefera Endalamaw / Daphine Gitonga

• Opening Remarks & Keynote: Building Youth-Led Green Value Chains
  Labode Popoola (10 min)
• NTFPs and Business Models for Youth and Women Employment
  Doris Mutta (15 min)
• Timber Value Chains and Opportunities for Sustainable Business Development in Ghana
  Shiferaw Alem (15 min)
• Valorizing Biomass Resources for Green Energy Supply Chain Development
  Miftah Fekadu (15 min)
• Bamboo Resources and Value Chain Development Opportunities in Africa
  Tefera B. Endalamaw (15 min)
• Environmental and Social Safeguards for Suitability and Inclusiveness
  Moussa Massauodou (15 min)
• Q&A Session – All (20 min)
• Closing Remarks
  Doris Mutta (5 min)

Registration Details

Webinar Topic: Forest-Based Business Development Opportunities for Youth Employment in Africa
Date & Time: March 25, 2026 | 15:00 (Nairobi Time)

Register in advance:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/XRhLa3zLRiOFuammd5V72Q

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with details on how to join the webinar.

Join us to explore how youth-led innovation and sustainable forest-based enterprises can drive green growth and climate resilience across Africa.