September 2025 l The Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO) participated in the Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) Conference 2025 held in Hong Kong, engaging with a diverse group of stakeholders to explore innovative financing solutions for forestry and climate action. The event served as a platform to strengthen AFoCO’s partnerships and exchange ideas on advancing sustainable forest management in the region.
AFoCO participated in AVPN Global Conference 2025, held from September 9–11 in Hong Kong, to engage with a diverse group of stakeholders and strengthen its network of global partners. During the event, AFoCO joined Acumen in a lunch panel session titled “Investing in Transformation: Shaping Asia’s Green Economy through Patient Capital” to promote the AFoCO’s leadership in sustainable forest management through enhance private sector engagement and blended finance initiatives. The session highlighted the vital role of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in advancing Asia’s green economy and climate resilience. Representing AFoCO, Soozin Ryang, Team Leader of the Capacity-Building and Evaluation Team, shared insights on the organization’s work to connect local priorities with global financing, and how AFoCO leverages its intergovernmental platform to de-risk investments and foster sustainable forest-based initiatives.
AFoCO is currently collaborating with Artha Networks to develop a blended finance initiative that aims to enhance private sector participation in forestry projects. This initiative focuses on introducing market-based approaches to NbS to lower barriers to investment and generate synergies between conservation and economic development.
Through this collaboration, AFoCO seeks to demonstrate how blended finance can de-risk private investments while creating sustainable value chains that integrate forest conservation, ecotourism, non-timber forest products, and agroforestry.
From discussions with private sector stakeholders, AFoCO’s role as a trusted intergovernmental organization was reaffirmed. Its deep-rooted partnerships with member country governments, strong technical expertise, and decade-long track record of transparent and accountable project implementation position AFoCO uniquely to catalyze sustainable and impactful investments. This, combined with its core mission of capacity building, enables AFoCO to connect local priorities with global financial flows in ways that generate lasting benefits for communities and the environment for greater impact.
Looking ahead, AFoCO is poised to unlock commercial finance by identifying and developing diverse blended finance initiatives across the forestry sector, working hand-in-hand with partners to foster public-private partnerships to scale sustainable green impact in Asia. Building on its strong network and expertise in forest-based solutions for climate action, AFoCO aims to become a dynamic regional hub for innovative financing models—driving climate resilience, empowering communities, and creating lasting environmental and economic benefits for generations to come.
Submitted by Somin Oh, Program Officer, Capacity-Building and Evaluation Team