Making Bamboo Bankable: DFCD-funded PT Indobamboo on track to scale up
In 2021, PT Indobamboo Lestari was granted €350,000 in technical support from the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) to expand their operations in manufacturing bamboo products and to help graduate the company through to the Investment Facility phase of the DFCD programme. Now, two years on, Stuart Beavis, the DFCD Regional Lead for Asia, has visited their facility on Bali to see first-hand the progress made and to assist with the business plan and Financial Model that will be presented to the FMO Investment Facility.
Bamboo is something of a wonder-crop, capable of retaining huge amounts of water and releasing it in the dry season to restore surrounding soil and promote vegetation. Founded in 2012 as a sister organisation of the Environmental Bamboo Foundation, PT Indobamboo sources bamboo from smallholders across 10,000 hectares of sustainably-managed forests on the island of Flores.
The bamboo is extremely high-quality and high-yield, and can be manufactured into a variety of products from structural materials to household items. What’s more, Indonesian bamboo is still relatively cheap compared to alternatives found elsewhere, and is increasingly attractive in the global market.
Since receiving the DFCD grant, PT Indobamboo has been able to conduct activities crucial to expanding their capacity for investment, such as obtaining the required licenses and permits, conducting a feasibility study, and a preliminary environmental and social impact assessment.
The company has now garnered interest from a range of potential investors, venture capitalists and offtakers who see a big financial opportunity. In addition, their investment would further support PT Indobamboo’s sustainable agroforestry practices, and the livelihoods of local farmers and workers.
The diversity of investors interested in PT Indobamboo is also down to the variety of products they are able to produce. During his visit, Beavis was shown how they make some of their sustainable innovations in the facility. Sturdy bamboo building blocks, planks and frames have drawn the attention of several developers and construction groups looking for sustainable construction material. They have also seen interest from a group in the shipping industry interested in sourcing dunnage – a product used to fix heavy cargo in place while in transit - made from bamboo.
Projections based off of the agreements they have planned with these companies form the basis for the Financial Model that Stuart Beavis, along with Marcel Dupuis (WWF Senior Advisor on DFCD), and PT Indobamboo are preparing to present to the DFCD Investment Facility.
Over the coming weeks and months, they will be hard at work developing their operations and getting the agreements over the line. If successful, they can graduate to the next phase of the DFCD programme, which will enable them to secure more financing and scale up further. The future looks promising.
PT Indobamboo Lestari has been producing laminated bamboo products in Bali, using bamboo that originates in Flores, since 2012. It was founded as a sister organisation to the Environmental Bamboo Foundation, which was founded in 1993, to promote, develop, and implement sustainable bamboo agroforestry and harvesting practices. This partnership has resulted in leading sustainable forestry management and finished goods production practices. Its approach has won numerous awards and supply partnerships.
For more information, contact Stuart Beavis, Regional Lead WWF DFCD Asia at sbeavis@wwf.org.hk.
In case you have any grievances in relation to this project of the DFCD’s Origination Facility, please contact us through our service desk at servicedesk@wwf.nl.