Press Release: New Tool Launch- Financial Solutions Database – Supporting Deforestation-Free Agriculture through Sustainable Finance

What is the Financial Solutions Database? 

The Financial Solutions Database is a user-friendly, searchable tool that allows stakeholders to explore financing solutions across multiple dimensions; including country, commodity, type of finance, provider, and target group. It currently includes solutions from Brazil, Ecuador, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Indonesia, Vietnam, and Zambia, with the intention to expand to more jurisdictions over time. 

This new tool addresses a critical need: while the EUDR requires traders and operators to ensure their products are deforestation-free, smallholder farmers often lack access to finance to meet these new due diligence obligations. By showcasing solutions; from concessional loans and blended finance structures to public subsidies and guarantees, the database showcases concrete examples that can already contribute to filling this implementation gap. 

Why Now? 

With the EUDR entering into application in 2025, producers across the tropics face increasing pressure to prove that their agricultural goods (e.g. coffee, cocoa, soy, palm oil, beef, wood, and rubber) are not linked to deforestation. Smallholders, often at the heart of global value chains, risk exclusion without timely support. Financial institutions, donors, NGOs, and policymakers also need better tools to target their interventions. This initiative offers a timely and practical tool to reinforce and scale up existing efforts already underway by financial institutions and other actors across the supply chain. 

The Financial Solutions Database supports these actors by mapping out who is doing what, where, and how. Each entry includes a detailed description of the financial solution and the relevant sources to find more detailed information. 

From Data to Action: How We Use the Database 

The insights gathered from the database are already being used to produce targeted knowledge products, such as: 

• Finance Briefing #4 – Blended Finance for Smallholders: This briefing explores how to use concessional resources to mobilize private capital for smallholders, using cases from the database. 

• Finance Briefing #5 – Coffee-Focused Solutions: A deep dive into financing schemes tailored to the coffee sector, where smallholders dominate the landscape. 

About the SAFE Project 

This work was developed under the SAFE – Sustainable Agriculture for Forest Ecosystems project. SAFE aims to preserve forests by promoting sustainable agricultural and food systems. As part of the Team Europe Initiative (TEI) on Deforestation-Free Value Chains, SAFE empowers smallholders by providing incentives for forest preservation and enhancing local capacities for sustainable land use and agriculture. SAFE is co-financed by the European Union, Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and implemented by GIZ. Climate & Company contributes as a strategic knowledge partner focused on sustainable finance. 

The Team Europe Initiative (TEI) on Deforestation-Free Value Chains is a joint initiative by the European Commission and EU Member States, working in collaboration with stakeholders in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Together, they strive to decouple agricultural production from deforestation, advancing global efforts to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030.  

Contribute and Collaborate 

We encourage stakeholders from the public, private, and civil society sectors to submit relevant financial solutions through the online form available in the database. Whether it’s a national subsidy program, a de-risking facility, or a private loan initiative, each solution helps expand our collective toolkit for addressing deforestation. 

Contact:
Climate & Company
Communications: Laura Bethke: laura.bethke@climcom.org 
Project Lead: Paula Pinto Zambrano: paula@climcom.org