Restoring land, building lasting forestry businesses
Twenty years of operating in one of the world’s most challenging frontiers, and a platform built to scale.
An integrated forestry platform
Equatoria Forestry Group (EFG) brings together three teak, agroforestry and restoration businesses across South Sudan and Uganda under one management team.
Our business began in 2006, when Equatoria Teak Company took over teak plantations in Western Equatoria that had been planted in the 1960s and left unmanaged through years of conflict. Since then we have rehabilitated and replanted those plantations, exported teak to international markets, revived coffee growing in the region and built one of the largest employers in Western Equatoria.
Today EFG combines that South Sudan operating base with Green Environ Forestry, a large Ugandan project on four Central Forest Reserves, where the same systems are being used to plant teak, restore indigenous forest and develop high-integrity carbon removals.
Our platform model
A repeatable approach we have proved in South Sudan and are now applying in Uganda.
Secure long-dated land & licences
Scarce teak-suitable land and restoration areas held under durable tenure.
Establish & plant
Nurseries, teak blocks and coffee agroforestry, phased by site readiness and funding.
Manage & protect
Silviculture, fire management, security, logistics, ESG delivery and community engagement.
Earn from three streams
Coffee first, carbon in the medium term, and timber for long-term value.
Reinvest to scale
Recycle cash into further planting, restoration, processing and market access.
One group, three projects
EFG is the holding company, based in Mauritius, with interests in each of the operating companies.
Scarce assets, secured for the long term
Only 0.5–1% of Africa’s land is suitable for teak, and most viable sites are already occupied or under population pressure. Long tenure lets us manage full rotation cycles, meet carbon permanence requirements and invest with confidence.
Within the next 20 years, there will be few, if any, remaining opportunities to develop large commercial-scale, sustainable forestry operations in Africa.
Charlie Tryon · Chairman, EFG
32-year lease across five concessions in Western Equatoria.
60-year lease held since 2009 over two forest reserves.
Long-dated National Forestry Authority licence for GEF’s four Central Forest Reserves.
Twenty years on the ground
- 2006
ETC founded. Equatoria Teak Company is granted concessions to manage 1,890 ha of teak plantations first planted in the 1960s and neglected between 1983 and 2005.
- 2007
A 32-year concession is granted and CDC and Finnfund invest in the company. Harvesting and replanting begin, starting with 60 ha of new teak.
- 2009
Green Environ Teak Company secures two long-dated concessions in Maridi County.
- 2012
Maris invests in ETC and GETC. Ian Paterson joins as Managing Director and the turnaround begins.
- 2013
Teak planting and coppicing restart. A contractor management system is introduced and sawmilling moves from a central mill to mobile mills closer to the harvesting blocks.
- 2018
Trials begin with Excelsa coffee and vanilla. Teak harvesting reaches its peak, with more than 1,000 people employed.
- 2020
The first coffee harvest earns strong cupping results, and RVO approves funding for the “Excelling in Excelsa” outgrower programme. Teak harvesting ends and ETC enters its development phase.
- 2021
Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) grant awarded.
- 2022
Technical agreement signed with the Western Equatoria State Government on coffee and other agricultural products.
- 2023
“Excelling in Excelsa” is completed successfully. More than 1,500 outgrower farmers recruited, 750 ha of coffee planted by farmers and 83 ha at the ETC farm. Partnership with TreeVive.
- 2024
Proparco approves technical assistance for the coffee value chain. ETC reaches 3,253 ha of teak plantation. Partnership with Form International.
- 2026
Uganda moves to implementation. First planting at Green Environ Forestry in northern Uganda.
Meet the people behind EFG
An experienced leadership team with more than 100 years of combined African forestry experience.