Bees & Trees 🌳 🌳

What Bees & Trees 🌳 🌳 does

Bees & Trees Uganda, headquartered in Kampala and founded in 2022 (originally as Bees for Hope) by Stephen Bright Sakwa and Samantha Natumanya, is a youth-led Ugandan social enterprise that motivates smallholder farmers to restore degraded land in the Mt. Elgon region (Bududa and Mbale Districts) by combining beekeeping, shade-grown Arabica coffee agroforestry, and tree planting into a single incentive model. Operationally, the organization trains rural youth and women's groups, distributes starter packs (Kenya Top-Bar beehives, coffee seedlings, multipurpose trees), and sources pure organic honey and Arabica coffee from Mt. Elgon farmers for sale through its own e-commerce storefront. Its product portfolio spans four lines: Bees & Trees Coffee (whole, ground, and raw Arabica beans), Bees & Trees Honey (organic conservation honey with a jar-refill program), Bees & Trees Ecocert (GainForest-verified results-based payments for biodiversity and climate outcomes sold on the GainForest/Ecocertain marketplace), and a children's educational storybook ("Saving Bubungi") integrated into school eco-clubs.

The business model rests on four revenue streams that together fund restoration activity: (1) direct-to-consumer honey and coffee product sales via the enterprise's own website, (2) corporate ESG/CSR partnerships (with Centenary Bank, Kuehne+Nagel, Octant, Ma Earth, Bosch Alumni Network) that fund landscape restoration packages, (3) Ecocert results-based payments sold through the GainForest marketplace to global buyers, and (4) donations and philanthropy (including a GoFundMe channel). The flagship disclosed contract, a UGX 30 million (~$81,000) World Environment Day 2025 collaboration with Centenary Bank, illustrates the per-partnership contract scale. Technology is intentionally lightweight: there is no proprietary software platform, no mobile app, no patents, and no AI/ML capabilities; the enterprise relies on GainForest's Green Globe digital MRV platform and on direct e-commerce for its commercial operations. The team is small (eight total, four core professionals plus an advisory board), and the enterprise has earned international recognition through selection in the inaugural World Food Forum Youth Food Lab cohort and the 2023 Youth Food Award (Rome), the 2022 Wageningen University Nature-Based Solutions Challenge, and presentations at COP27.

Name

Bees & Trees 🌳 🌳

Legal name

Bees and Trees Uganda

Website

https://beesandtreesug.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2022

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Bees & Trees Uganda is a Kampala-based, youth-led social enterprise founded in 2022 that motivates Mt. Elgon smallholder farmers to restore degraded land by combining beekeeping, Arabica coffee agroforestry, and tree planting, selling the resulting organic honey, coffee, and verified biodiversity Ecocerts to consumers and corporate ESG partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Sustainable Agriculture and Restoration Services

NAICS

Apiculture (11291), Apiculture (112910), Forest Nurseries and Gathering of Forest Products (11321)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Agricultural Production-Crops (100), Forestry (800)

akta.pro primary industry

Honey Production & Extraction (AFAEAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Regenerative Agriculture (Soil Carbon, Cover Crops, Reduced/No-Till) (AFAGAMAA), Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (Fair Trade, Food Access, Regenerative) (BPAGALAD), Agroforestry & Perennial Cropping Systems (EUABABAD), Commercial Pollination Services (Hive Rental) (AFAEAHAG)

Keywords

• Sustainable agriculture
• Coffee agroforestry
• Beekeeping services
• Land restoration
• Nature-based solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Kampala

HQ country

Uganda

HQ region

Africa

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Honey and Coffee Product Sales: Bees & Trees purchases honey and coffee from smallholder farmers and sells to end consumers, creating a fully-fledged sustainable value chain. Honey provides near-term cashflow for farmers; coffee delivers medium-term earnings. Products include pure Arabica coffee from Mount Elgon and organic conservation honey.
2. Corporate ESG / CSR Partnerships: Collaboration with corporations (Kuehne+Nagel, Centenary Bank) for landscape restoration and nature conservation. Corporations fund tree planting and restoration initiatives as part of their ESG/CSR programs.
3. Ecocerts (Results-Based Payments): Bees & Trees packages unfunded environmental work into Ecocerts, enabling payment for efforts driving biodiversity and climate action. Ecocerts are GainForest verified and purchasable. Payments cover established pollinator habitats and planted trees.
4. Donations and Philanthropy: Through donations and CSR initiatives, beehives and coffee seedlings are gifted to farmers to motivate tree planting and agroforestry adoption.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Bees & Trees Uganda motivates smallholder farmers to restore degraded land by combining beekeeping, coffee agroforestry, and tree planting into an integrated incentive model. The organization purchases organic honey and pure Arabica coffee from participating farmers in the Mt. Elgon region, sells these products through its own e-commerce storefront, and monetizes restoration outcomes through GainForest-verified Ecocerts and corporate ESG partnerships. Training, starter packs (beehives, seedlings, trees), and premium market access are provided to farmers and youth as part of a fully-fledged sustainable value chain.

Product overview

Bees & Trees Uganda is a youth-led social enterprise that operates a portfolio of four interconnected products: Bees & Trees Coffee (pure Arabica coffee from Mount Elgon), Bees & Trees Honey (organic conservation honey from local farmers), Bees & Trees Ecocert (GainForest-verified nature/climate credits), and the Bees & Trees Storybook (environmental education tool). The enterprise motivates smallholder farmers to restore degraded land through incentives, with honey and coffee sales providing income streams while bees enhance pollination and trees contribute to landscape restoration.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bees & Trees Ecocert: Results-based payments for nature and climate - environmental work packaged into Ecocerts enabling payment for biodiversity and climate action efforts.
• Bees & Trees Honey
• Bees & Trees Coffee
• Bees & Trees Story Book

Products and services

• Bees & Trees Honey Organic conservation honey sourced directly from dedicated smallholder farmers surrounding Mt. Elgon National Park. Honey serves as a vital safety net for local communities during crop failure periods and is available with a jar refill program at a discounted price. Sold to end consumers via the Bees & Trees website.
• Bees & Trees Coffee Pure Arabica coffee harvested from the slopes of Mount Elgon by conservationist farmers. Offered as whole Arabica beans, ground Arabica, and raw unroasted beans. Provides medium-term earnings for participating smallholder farmers through shade-grown coffee agroforestry.
• Bees & Trees Ecocert

Quantifiable outcome

• 5,000 young people equipped with skills and opportunities in sustainable agriculture
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Centenary BankflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 June 2025Bees & Trees partnered with Centenary Bank — Uganda's leading Commercial Microfinance Bank — to restore degraded land and boost youth and women's livelihoods in Wokukiri Village (Mbale District). On World Environment Day (June 5), the partnership delivered a finance-linked restoration package including 80 Kenya Top-Bar beehives, 20,000 coffee seedlings, and 10,000 multipurpose trees. The UGX 30 million collaboration (~$81,000 USD) also opens pathways to inclusive financial services for youth and women. Centenary Bank allocates 2% of profit after tax to community investment through its CSR programme.
• Kuehne + NagelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Kuehne+Nagel to train a women's group and provide starter packs (beehives, tree seedlings). In 2024, 15 women in Wokukiri Village received 10 Kenya Top-Bar beehives and 1,500 multipurpose trees. Also includes tree planting at Mbuya Church of Uganda Primary School in Kampala (30 fruit trees) and Bethany Land Institute in Luwero (200 trees).
• Bosch Alumni NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to train 100 youths in Bududa and Manafwa about sustainable land management, ecopreneurship, and energy saving. Participants received starter packs — 25 Kenya Top-Bar beehives and 2,000 multipurpose trees — along with ongoing mentorship. Goal is to restore degraded land through nature-based enterprises.
• GainForestcoreTechnology or IntegrationGainForest provides a digital monitoring platform (Green Globe platform) that Bees & Trees uses to track and verify restoration outcomes. Ecocerts are GainForest verified and purchasable on the GainForest/Ecocertain marketplace. Bees & Trees also uses GainForest's mapping site for field visits.
• World Food Forum (WFF)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBees & Trees was selected for the inaugural Youth Food Lab cohort by the World Food Forum. The programme provides hands-on mentorship, expert workshops, access to a network, and global visibility. Bees & Trees received the Youth Food Award at the WFF in Rome in October 2023.
• International Gender Champions (IGC) SecretariatminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBees & Trees co-founder Stephen Bright Sakwa was featured as a speaker at the IGC Lunch and Learn event on ecofeminist perspectives, building networks at the intersection of gender and climate action.
• DW News (Deutsche Welle)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerBees & Trees was featured in DW News Eco Africa documentary series, showcasing their efforts to combat and reverse environmental damage in Eastern Uganda by incentivising farmers to plant and protect trees and encouraging beekeeping.
• Bethany Land InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBees & Trees planted 200 trees with Bethany Land Institute in Luwero as part of the Kuehne+Nagel corporate partnership. The institute serves as a demonstration site for restoration.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• South Pole Group: Global carbon and nature-based solutions developer and credit intermediary; relevant to Bees & Trees' Ecocert line of business but operates globally and at vastly greater scale.
• One Acre Fund (Tupande): Large East African smallholder agriculture organisation providing inputs, finance, and training. Overlaps with Bees & Trees on farmer livelihoods in Uganda and Kenya, but at substantially greater scale and breadth.
• Fairtrade Africa: African arm of Fairtrade International, working with smallholder coffee and honey producers across East Africa; comparable farmer base and premium-market positioning.
• Rainforest Alliance: Global sustainability certification body covering coffee, forestry, and biodiversity; overlaps with Bees & Trees' sustainable coffee and conservation themes but operates at certification/standard-setting scale rather than as a single-country operator.

Others

• GainForest: Digital monitoring and nature-credit platform partner of Bees & Trees. Enabling technology provider rather than direct competitor, but key to the Ecocert go-to-market.

Direct peers

• Vi Agroforestry: Kenya-based (with Swedish roots) organisation promoting agroforestry and sustainable land management among smallholder farmers in East Africa — directly comparable integrated farming and restoration approach.
• Komaza: Kenya-based social enterprise working with smallholder farmers on forestry/agroforestry value chains; comparable East African footprint and smallholder-aggregation model.
• Honey Care Africa: Kenyan social enterprise aggregating, processing, and marketing honey from smallholder farmers — directly comparable to Bees & Trees' honey value chain and smallholder-farmer model in East Africa.
• Trees for the Future (TREES): US-headquartered nonprofit running the Forest Garden Approach with smallholder farmers in East Africa; near-identical agroforestry-plus-livelihood model to Bees & Trees.
• Bees for Development: UK-headquartered NGO promoting beekeeping as a route out of poverty in Africa and developing countries. Highly comparable mission and target beneficiary base (smallholder beekeepers in East Africa).

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bees_hope
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCip3VjBe9g7JJ5mHMPD4jOQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/beesandtreesug
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bees-and-trees
• Instagraminstagram.com/beesandtreesuganda

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Bees & Trees 🌳 🌳