NCBA ACCELERATES SUSTAINABILITY AGENDA WITH LANDMARK TREE-PLANTING INITIATIVE IN ARUSHA

NCBA Head of Strategy & Sustainability, Charles Mbatia at a past tree-planting initiative.

NCBA Acting Managing Director, Alex Mziray, planting trees at a past event.

Tanzania’s environmental landscape is undergoing a quiet yet powerful transformation as NCBA Tanzania intensifies its long-term sustainability mission. Anchored in the NCBA Group’s five sustainability pillars and driven by the continent-wide Change the Story programme, the Bank is translating its ambition into measurable climate action—most notably through expansive tree-growing efforts across the country.

NCBA Tanzania’s journey began with practical, community-centered interventions: greening school compounds in Dar es Salaam, strengthening coastal resilience in Zanzibar, cooling urban spaces in Mwanza, and restoring degraded landscapes in Arusha. Over the years, the Bank has planted more than 10,000 trees nationwide—each tree a symbol of impact aligned with its purpose platform, Maisha ni Hesabu – Numbers That Matter.

Today, the Bank’s momentum has surged dramatically. From 4,000 trees planted in 2024, NCBA is now on track to reach 16,000 trees in 2025—a fourfold leap that marks one of its most ambitious environmental milestones yet. With 5,000 trees already established along River Mpiji, the Bank is preparing for an 11,000-tree activation in Olkokola, Arusha, a project poised to become one of Tanzania’s most significant private-sector-led restoration efforts.

Olkokola is a community deeply connected to Kijani Pamoja (KP), NCBA’s strategic partner in the initiative. KP has laid strong foundations through early community mobilisation, long-term collaboration with the Tanzania Forest Services (TFS), and trusted relationships with farmers and local cooperatives. The area forms part of a biodiversity-rich corridor linked to KP’s broader Kilimanjaro ecosystem initiatives—including KERI and the Kilimanjaro Community Livelihood Initiative (KCLI), which aims to integrate more than 400,000 smallholder farmers into community-driven carbon markets. KP has also conducted Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) engagements with over 300 farmers, ensuring readiness for responsible and inclusive implementation.

At the centre of this year’s activation is KP’s Pay-to-Grow model—an approach that shifts focus from planting trees to ensuring their survival and long-term ecological value. The system rewards farmers based on tree survival rates rather than planting numbers alone, promoting shared economic benefits and driving equitable participation, with women and youth accounting for up to 60% of beneficiaries. This model not only enhances environmental outcomes but also supports stable livelihoods for participating households.

NCBA’s partnership with KP signals a meaningful evolution in environmental leadership: from planting trees to cultivating resilient ecosystems; from one-off activities to sustainable, long-term community development; and from verbal commitments to verifiable impact backed by transparent, geotagged monitoring systems.

In Arusha—where community trust is strong and local nurseries already have more than 15,000 seedlings prepared—the upcoming 11,000-tree initiative is set to become a flagship moment in NCBA’s national sustainability agenda. As this major restoration effort draws closer, NCBA continues to demonstrate how private-sector leadership, scientific expertise, and community participation can converge to restore landscapes, build livelihoods, and advance the Numbers That Matterfor generations to come.