Like most major companies, BGF works as a group of companies, with each company focusing on a different aspect of operations. The Better Globe Group consists of a range of companies in various sectors, all geared towards the common goal of reducing extreme poverty in East Africa’s arid and semi-arid areas through massive tree planting.
BGF is a Kenyan social enterprise in the forestry sector, privately owned by its founders, who also work for the company. BGF is the contracting party in all partnerships in Kenya and Uganda. BGF is also the local agent that plants and takes care of the trees that you buy as a customer of Better Globe AS, and that will carry out the repurchases under the repurchase agreement for the trees you own.
BGF operates and runs the plantations, and trains and supports the partner farmers who plant trees in an agroforestry system with the support of Better Globe customers who purchase the Donation Package. BGF also arranges trips for Better Globe AS’s clients and ambassadors from around the world who want to visit the locations in Kenya and Uganda.
Well rooted in the Kenyan business community
BGF has an outstanding reputation in Kenya and Uganda. The company collaborates with many other organizations, and we are well-connected with policymakers across the political spectrum.
Unlike many other forestry companies, BGF works “bottom-up.” They do that by anchoring all projects and decisions on a local level and then work their way upwards in the decision process. This process of starting on the local level is a time-consuming way to work. But in return, BGF gets important local support for all their businesses and reduces problems with corruption to a minimum. It also means that BGF naturally avoids so-called “land grabbing” and all of the issues that it can lead to, for BGF and the business community.
The Norwegian ambassador to Kenya, Kenya’s vice president, and founder of the Better Globe Group, Rino Solberg. July 2008
Some of BGF’s business highlights
2004 An investigation was performed to explore the possibilities of finding a tree that meets all requirements for quality, speed of growth, and yield. This research process led BGF to find that the Mukau tree offered the very best solutions to go ahead with their objective of alleviating extreme poverty in East Africa’s drylands.
2006 BGF’s pilot project begins with access to 5000 hectares of land at the Kiambere dam by the river Tana. The land belongs to the “Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority (TARDA).” The area had an unemployment rate of more than 65 percent, and the people in the area were considered to be the poorest among the sites under evaluation.
2008 BGF signed a “Memorandum of Understanding” with the Sosoma Ranching Cooperative Society (SRS) to plant 60,705 hectares of trees on an industrial scale. The local authorities also approved the document. The project is still alive, even though it has been delayed due to various legal and technical reasons.
The plant school in Nyongoro, 2012
2012 BGF signed a partnership with the Wity-Nyongoro Ranching Society, where 21,500 hectares of land are leased for planting, for the most part, Mukau.
2015 BGF started a project to help farmers plant Mukau trees on their land in accordance with a BGF-developed agroforestry and agroecology model, which combines different crops for best results. BGF agroforestry field agents train the partners and give them tree seedlings. And the company commits to purchasing the trees at ten percent above market value when it is time for felling.
In 2015, BGF was also awarded the “Kenya Tax award” from Kenya Revenue Authority. And BGF deepens the cooperation with KenGen and their foundation around the “Green Initiative Challenge“, a 10-year project aimed at planting over 500 hectares of forest that local schools and organizations can enjoy. Approximately 1000 schools in some of Kenya’s driest counties will be included by the year 2025.
Donated trees allow students and staff to plant and manage the trees. In this manner, they become tree planting ambassadors and learn the importance of trees and the value of planting and conserving them. Schools are also rewarded for tree seedling survival in incentives such as scholarships, cash prizes, and excursions.
Bruno Pescheux, CEO of Bamburi Cement, Albert Mugo, CEO of the KenGen Foundation, and BGF’s CEO Jean-Paul Deprins sign the Green Initiative Challenge agreement on June 24th, 2015.
2017 BGF has planted more than 1,000,000 trees in a few thousand hectares of land in semi-arid areas.
2018 BGF planted approximately 1,000,000 trees in northern Uganda with the help of partner farmers.
2019 BGF planted 690,000 trees in Uganda and Kenya.
2020 BGF is now on route to plant a total of 1,000,000 trees in Kenya and Uganda despite the ongoing pandemic. The results will be available next year and the latest official number of trees planted can always be found at our introduction page.
The magazine “Miti”
BGF also publishes “Miti Magazine” (“miti” translates to “tree” in Swahili). The industry magazine is about commercial tree planting in East Africa, emphasizing arid and semi-arid areas. Miti Magazine is used as reference material on the forest industry and by scientists, farmers and students.
By continually sharing expert knowledge from forestry experts, and the experience BGF acquires in the field, the company can share its results and support everyone with essential knowledge that can improve both land restoration and yields from tree planting and agroforestry. At the same time, BGF gets a natural exchange of experience with many different industry players and an increasingly more extensive network of contacts within the forestry sector in East Africa.
If you want to read more about the Better Globe Group and their companies, we recommend visiting their website
Save some of your money in trees and help reduce poverty
We invite you to make a difference in East Africa and contribute to a better world. Your trees will be managed in an ethical, sustainable, and long-term way. Click on the link to our shop and make a socially responsible purchase today. With us, it is profitable to help others.