Centenary Bank Uganda, the Catholic Church and Good Forests Foundation Uganda (GFU) have joined forces in a five-year tree-growing and landscape restoration partnership that will support the establishment and management of 500,000 trees across different Catholic Dioceses in Uganda.
The partnership, which was officially launched in August 2026 with Kabale Diocese, was extended to Kabale Diocese at a launch held at Nyamwegabira Parish in Kihihi Town Council on Sunday, October 14, 2026. The event was attended by the Vicar General, Dr. John Vianney …
About the Project
As part of Centenary Bank’s broader sustainability agenda aimed at minimizing its carbon footprint, the Bank, the Catholic Church and Good Forests Foundation Uganda have entered into an ambitious five-year tree-growing and landscape restoration partnership.
The partnership will support the establishment and management of 500,000 trees across different Catholic Dioceses in Uganda.
Centenary Bank has committed to supporting the growing of 100,000 trees annually for five years starting in 2026. GFU will provide technical expertise, coordination, implementation, management and monitoring of the tree-growing programme.
The 12 participating Catholic Dioceses have provided land and mobilised masses to support the establishment and management of the woodlots.
For 2026, the participating Dioceses are Kasese, Fort Portal, Kiyinda-Mityana, Masaka, Mbarara, Kabale, Jinja, Tororo, Arua, Nebbi, Moroto and Kotido.
Together, the partners aim to restore approximately 213 acres of land through the establishment of well-managed woodlots using appropriate indigenous tree species.
More Than Planting Trees
GFU will provide technical guidance on site selection, species selection, planting, establishment, maintenance and monitoring.
This approach is intended to improve tree survival and ensure that investments made by the partners translate into long-term restoration.
The partnership also demonstrates how private-sector financing, faith-based institutions and local technical organisations can work together to deliver land restoration at scale.
A Shared-Responsibility Model
The partnership is built around a simple but powerful model. The Catholic Church provides land and mobilises masses to support the programme. Centenary Bank provides financial and institutional support, while GFU provides technical expertise and manages implementation and monitoring.
This shared-responsibility model is designed to ensure that every partner contributes its best capabilities while working toward a common goal: growing healthy forests and restoring degraded landscapes.
The Centenary Bank-GFU-Catholic Church partnership seeks to demonstrate what can be achieved when different resources and capabilities are brought together around a common restoration agenda.
Continued Collaboration
The partnership builds on an earlier collaboration between Centenary Bank and GFU, under which 5,000 trees were planted across eight acres in Kasese District.
GFU brings extensive experience in community-led restoration, agroforestry and sustainable land management across Central, Eastern and Western Uganda.
Through this work, the organisation has established 19 tree nurseries, worked with 6,518 farmers, planted more than 214,000 trees, supported restoration efforts and strengthened institutional partnerships to increase the impact of tree-growing initiatives.
About the Partners
Centenary Bank
Centenary Bank is the leading commercial microfinance bank in Uganda, serving more than 3.4 million customers, with more than 9,000 CenteAgents, 81 branches and 214 ATMs across the country.
The bank also offers various digital channels and financial services, including CenteMobile, CenteAgent, CenteOnline and Centenary Visa debit and prepaid cards.
Its mission is “To provide appropriate financial services, especially microfinance, to all people, in a sustainable manner and in accordance with the law.”
Website: https://www.centenarybank.co.ug/about
Good Forests Foundation Uganda
Good Forests Foundation Uganda (GFU) is a locally registered Ugandan organisation working on reforestation, agroforestry, sustainable value chains and landscape restoration.
Uganda’s forests and landscapes are under increasing pressure from agricultural expansion, population growth, energy demand and other land-use pressures. Addressing these challenges requires more than isolated tree-planting events.
GFU’s approach focuses on community-led restoration, sustainable land management and long-term landscape recovery.
