Tropenbos International

What Tropenbos International does

Tropenbos International is a non-profit organization and global network of locally rooted member organizations operating in tropical forest frontiers across Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. Headquartered in Utrecht, the Netherlands, the network operates in 10 countries—Bolivia, Colombia, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Philippines, Suriname, Uganda, and Viet Nam—working with Indigenous Peoples, local communities, smallholder farmers, government agencies, and private sector companies across six focus areas: community forest management, restoration, agroforestry, wildfire prevention, business and finance, and gender and youth.

The organization's core products include the OFC-Bol Mobile App (a digital timber marketplace connecting community forest organizations with buyers in Guarayos, Bolivia), the Forest Monitoring Centre (a satellite-based wildfire early warning system combining geospatial analysis with local knowledge covering approximately 1.3 million hectares), the Agroforestry Perception Tool (a participatory assessment framework for farmer perceptions of agroforestry systems), and the Youth it or Lose it initiative (a global youth leadership program with associated multimedia content). Recent impact metrics include 1.35+ million hectares under improved community forest management benefiting 29,000+ people since 2019, 380,000 hectares of forest legally awarded as community concessions in DR Congo (2020–2025), and US$17 million in REDD+ payments mobilized for Ghana landscapes.

Tropenbos International generates revenue through a combination of grants from foundations and bilateral donors (Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Danida, DOB Ecology, Postcode Loterij, ADA), charitable donations, and climate finance mechanisms (including the Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme). The organization operates under a community-led go-to-market model, using a network of country-level partner organizations for field implementation, direct community engagement, policy advocacy with government agencies, and strategic partnerships with private sector companies. In 2025, the organization defined a new governance model and confirmed a shift to a decentralised Network Hub structure with stronger Southern leadership.

Name

Tropenbos International

Legal name

Tropenbos International

Website

https://tropenbos.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1986

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Tropenbos International is a non-profit global network of local organizations working with Indigenous communities, smallholder farmers, governments, and companies across 10 tropical countries to support community forest management, restoration, agroforestry, wildfire prevention, and sustainable finance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Forest Conservation Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Forestry (11531), Environment, Conservation and Wildlife Organizations (813312)

SIC

Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Conservation, Restoration & Biodiversity Services (Habitat, Wetlands, Riparian) (IMAMAJAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ecosystem Services & Natural Capital Programs (Water, Biodiversity Credits, PES) (IMAMAJAK), Forest Management & Silviculture Services (Cruising, Planning, Compliance) (IMAMAAAD), Timberland Carbon & Natural Capital Project Development (Offsets/REDD+) (AFAMAKAH)

Keywords

• Forest conservation services
• Community forest management
• Agroforestry programs
• Wildfire prevention monitoring
• Climate finance facilitation

Headquarters

HQ city

Ede

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Accepts donations to a Dutch bank account. Donations form a portion of funding for organizational activities.
2. Foundation and Corporate Funding Partnerships: Partnerships with foundations, charities, and companies that share commitment to thriving, resilient and biodiverse landscapes. Funding supports programmes and projects.
3. Climate Finance Mechanisms: Access to climate finance through mechanisms like Ghana Cocoa Forest REDD+ Programme, supporting communities to invest in sustainable land-use practices.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Tropenbos International is a non-profit network of local organizations that designs and delivers field-based programs in community forest management, restoration, agroforestry, wildfire prevention, business and finance, and gender and youth across 10 tropical forest countries. It supports indigenous peoples, smallholder farmers, governments, and companies with capacity building, policy advocacy, market access facilitation, and knowledge products. Its portfolio includes purpose-built tools such as the OFC-Bol mobile timber marketplace, the satellite-based Forest Monitoring Centre, and the Agroforestry Perception Tool.

Product overview

Tropenbos International operates as a global network of local organizations without a unified software platform product. The organization offers a portfolio of programs, publications, and tools focused on tropical forest conservation, including the OFC-Bol Mobile App (a digital marketplace for community timber), the Forest Monitoring Centre (a satellite-based wildfire early warning system), the Agroforestry Perception Tool (a participatory assessment resource), and the Youth it or Lose it initiative (a youth leadership program with associated video series). These offerings are distributed across six thematic focus areas: Community Forest Management, Restoration, Agroforestry, Wildfire Prevention, Business and Finance, and Gender and Youth.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• OFC-Bol Mobile App
• Forest Monitoring Centre

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 1.35 million hectares under improved community forest management benefiting 29,000+ people since 2019
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• IUCN National Committee of the NetherlandscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Jointly organized learning trajectory under the Green Livelihoods Alliance, bringing together reflections of 39 civil society organizations from 11 tropical countries on locally-led development. Produced joint publication 'Locally-led Sustainable Development: Insights and Recommendations from GLA Partners'.
• Green Livelihoods Alliance (GLA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Major coalition working on sustainable forest management and locally-led development. TBI participates as network member contributing field evidence and implementation capacity to collective learning and advocacy efforts.
• IUCN NLcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner in MoMo4C (Mobilising More for Climate) programme supporting inclusive, climate-resilient economies in forest frontier areas across forested tropics.
• WWF-NLcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partner in MoMo4C programme supporting climate solutions and sustainable business development in forest frontier landscapes.
• WWFsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Co-supporter of first forestry business roundtable in Guarayos, Bolivia, helping connect community forest organizations with buyers.
• Solidar SuizasupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Co-supporter of forestry business roundtable in Guarayos, Bolivia.
• Tây Nguyên UniversitysupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Academic partner in Vietnam's Central Highlands collaborating to identify restoration models and develop agroforestry systems with coffee and indigenous tree species.
• Government of Lắk and Krông Bông Districts (Vietnam)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Subnational government partners who signed decrees formally supporting agroforestry systems and provide extension services for women farmers.
• Traditional Leaders (DR Congo)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Traditional leaders with significant moral and political weight in Tshopo Province who provided public backing for community forest rights, helping counter resistance from local elites.
• EMFED Farms and Trading CompanysupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Local business supported with business plan development and pilot composting line for converting cocoa husks to organic compost. TBI facilitated access to financing through guarantee mechanism.
• SolidaridadsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Organization that founded EMFED Farms and Trading Company, working together with TBI on cocoa sector sustainability.
• PENHAcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Network member in Ethiopia working with communities, traditional leaders and government agencies to promote fire-smart landscape approaches. Supported development of Ethiopia's National Integrated Fire Management System.
• Rong XanhsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025
• Observatorio de Territorios Étnicos y Campesinos, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana (Colombia)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Academic partner for Youth it or Lose it initiative, supporting youth leadership development in tropical forest landscapes across Amazon, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia.
• School of Environment and Sustainability (SENS), University of Saskatchewan (Canada)supportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Academic partner for Youth it or Lose it initiative, contributing expertise and support to youth empowerment in forest communities.
• NTFP EP AsiasupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Collaborated to organize Youth Engagement and Empowerment Hive in Indonesia, bringing together 40 young people from across Asia to deepen understanding of climate justice and Indigenous Peoples' rights.
• Ketapang District Government (Indonesia)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Collaborated to establish working group and develop district-level masterplan for peatland restoration and fire prevention covering approximately 80,000 hectares.
• Instituto Boliviano de Investigación Forestal (IBIF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Primary network member in Bolivia. Conducted research on small-scale logging that informed Supreme Decree No. 4359, legalizing affordable logging technologies for Indigenous communities.
• University of FreiburgsupportingStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Academic partner working with IBIF to trial affordable, small-scale logging technologies in Indigenous Territory of Lomerío.
• Ministry of Environment and Water (Bolivia)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Government ministry that revised forestry regulations and adopted IBIF's research findings, leading to Supreme Decree No. 4359.
• Smallholder CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Coalition of NGOs advocating for EU Deforestation Regulation to be strict on deforestation while fair to small producers. TBI contributed evidence from landscape studies in Indonesia, Vietnam and Ghana.
• European UnioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Developed EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) to ensure products entering EU market are not linked to forest loss. TBI engaged through Smallholder Coalition to influence implementation framework.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR-ICRAF): CIFOR-ICRAF is a global research organisation focused on tropical forestry and agroforestry, producing evidence and tools very similar to TBI's restoration and agroforestry work and targeting comparable donor (CGIAR, EU, bilateral) and country stakeholders.
• Solidaridad Network: Solidaridad operates a near-identical global network of regional offices supporting smallholder farmers and community enterprises in commodity supply chains across Africa, Latin America, and Asia; directly comparable model, target segments, and funding partners (incl. cited Ghana cocoa partner).
• IDH - The Sustainable Trade Initiative: IDH convenes public-private partnerships for sustainable commodity supply chains (cocoa, coffee, timber) in the same tropical forest countries; TBI's Business and Finance focus area and MoMo4C guarantee mechanisms directly mirror IDH's landscape and SME finance work.
• SNV Netherlands Development Organisation: Dutch headquartered development NGO operating multi-country programmes in renewable energy, agriculture, and forestry in the same tropical geographies; closely comparable governance model, donor mix (Dutch MFA, EU), and locally-led implementation approach.

Broad incumbents

• World Resources Institute (WRI): WRI runs Global Forest Watch and produces the forest monitoring data and analytical tools that complement TBI's field-based Forest Monitoring Centre; comparable donor base, comparable tropical forest focus, and overlapping public-private partnerships.
• IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature): IUCN is a global conservation union that convenes governments, NGOs, and scientists on standards, protected areas, and biodiversity; TBI's policy advocacy and Nature-based Solutions work intersects directly with IUCN's forest programmes and Dutch National Committee.
• Conservation International: Conservation International operates major tropical forest landscape programmes in the same geographies (particularly the Andes-Amazon, Congo Basin, Southeast Asia) with a comparable mix of community engagement, climate finance (REDD+), and corporate partnerships.
• WWF (World Wildlife Fund): WWF is the largest global conservation NGO with a much broader portfolio (species, oceans, climate) but overlapping tropical forest, restoration, and wildfire work in the same countries; competes for the same donor and policy attention.

Others

• Forest Stewardship Council (FSC): FSC sets the global timber and forest certification standard; TBI's community forestry and timber market access work (OFC-Bol, Bolivia logging tech) directly supports FSC-aligned certification, making it a complementary standards and ecosystem partner rather than a competitor.
• Fairtrade International: Fairtrade operates smallholder certification and premium programmes for cocoa, coffee, and other tropical commodities in the same countries and value chains TBI engages; an enabling/complementary standards ecosystem for the same smallholder segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@TropenbosInternational
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tropenbos-international
• Xx.com/tropenbos
• Facebookfacebook.com/TropenbosInternational

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tropenbos International