US$4m investment in conservation project in Uganda
05/01/2023 07:00
For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below: http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20230105:nRSE7041La&default-theme=true RNS Number : 7041L Inqo Investments Limited 05 January 2023 Inqo Investments Limited US$4m investment in Conservation and Rural Enterprise (CARE) project in Ugandan national park Inqo Investments Limited (INQO) announces a collaboration with Belmont University, Nashville on its Conservation and Rural Enterprises (CARE) Project with the aim of using enterprise to tackle environmental and social issues around the Budongo Forest in Uganda. Through a $4 million US dollar grant, the CARE project will invest in small and medium size enterprises (SME) in and around Budongo Forest over the next three years. The 825 km(2) Budongo Forest is home to more than 600 chimpanzees, classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), as well as a wide range of other flora and fauna. The forest is part of the Murchison Falls National Park Conservation Area which is the largest protected area in Uganda covering 3,840 km(2) and a key area for the country's biodiversity conservation. Budongo Forest faces several threats including illegal bush meat poaching, deforestation for charcoal production and increasing population pressure around the forest fringes. The CARE project is designed around the belief that social and environmental issues are interrelated and that poverty is the main cause of deforestation in this region. By working with communities in and around the Budongo Forest to build scalable and sustainable SMEs, the CARE project aims to create jobs and increase livelihood in the community and to provide alternative employment to activities such as bushmeat poaching and charcoal production. Examples of enterprises currently being explored include an eco-lodge, sustainable agriculture, agri-processing and solar induction cook stove assembly plant. The project will be managed by Inqo Investments Ltd., one of the pioneers in the socio-environmental impact investment space having founded the Kuzuko Private Game Reserve in South Africa with the expressed aim of creating jobs in an area of over 70% unemployment. Enquiries Inqo Investments Limited Tel: +44 7768 613346 Dr Kim Tan, Chairman Email: kimtan2@springhilluk.com (mailto:kimtan2@springhilluk.com) Hobart Capital Markets LLP AQSE Corporate Adviser and Broker Tel: +44 (0)20 7070 5665 Dr Wang Chong Email: wang.chong@hobartcapital.com About Inqo Investments Limited 'INQO' (www.inqo.co.za) is a South Africa-based social impact company listed on the London Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market. It makes strategic acquisitions and investments in businesses designed to tackle poverty and provide employment, products and services to the poor in Low Income Countries (LICs). This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com) or visit www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/) . RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy) . END NEXBIMATMTTMBMJ