Minet is making significant strides towards its ambitious goal of planting 500,000 trees in Kenya by 2030, having recently planted 20,000 tree seedlings at the Matathia block of the Uplands Forest in Lari Constituency, Kiambu County. This brings the total number of trees the company has planted to 46,000 over the past three years, with plans to increase its annual targets in the coming years.
The event, held on Thursday, marked a key milestone in Minet’s ongoing commitment to environmental restoration and sustainable development. The company’s reforestation initiative addresses the growing problem of deforestation in Kenya, which, according to the Kenya Forest Service’s 2024 Forest Status Report, sees the country lose around 84,716 hectares of forest annually, with an additional 14,934 hectares degraded each year. The economic impact of these losses is severe, with the country incurring KSh534 billion in costs annually due to reduced carbon storage, lower agricultural productivity, and decreased water resources.
During the tree-planting ceremony, Minet’s CEO, Sammy Muthui, highlighted the urgent need to reverse the trend of deforestation, emphasizing that the issue affects not just the environment, but also local communities.
“The drivers of deforestation are clear, and so are its devastating impacts—from biodiversity loss and soil erosion to food insecurity and climate volatility,”
Muthui said.
“This is, therefore, not just an environmental issue, but a humanitarian one and one that requires urgent attention.”
Minet’s efforts are in line with Kenya’s national objectives under the Forest Ecosystem Landscape Restoration Strategy, which aims to plant 15 billion trees and restore 10.6 million hectares of degraded land by 2032. The company’s initiatives also support Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 15, which focuses on protecting, restoring, and promoting the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems.
In 2023, Minet, a leading risk advisory firm in Kenya, pledged to plant half a million trees by 2030, aligning its efforts with the global deadline for achieving all SDGs. The company successfully planted 26,000 trees that year, though efforts were temporarily halted in 2024 following a landslide at the planned site. Planting resumed this year after receiving clearance from the Kenya Forest Service (KFS).
Kenya’s reforestation progress has seen a substantial increase, as reported by the 2025 Economic Survey by the Kenyan National Bureau of Statistics. The survey shows that the country’s reforestation efforts more than doubled in 2024, with 4,900 hectares of new forest area planted compared to 2,400 hectares the previous year. Minet’s contributions are an integral part of this national drive to expand Kenya’s tree cover and combat climate change.
The latest planting event was a collaborative effort, involving over 100 local community members who helped prepare the land and commit to nurturing the seedlings. The community’s engagement is central to Minet’s sustainable approach, ensuring that the trees will be cared for until they reach maturity. Once fully grown, the trees are expected to produce enough oxygen for over 10,000 people annually and absorb more than 440,000 kilograms of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, contributing to both local and global climate change mitigation efforts.
“Sustainable solutions must be community-driven,”
said Muthui.
“To us, this is not a photo-op but a long-term partnership for change.”
The event, themed “Contributing to a Better World,” encapsulated Minet’s belief that each tree planted is a step toward a more resilient, sustainable future. As the CEO concluded,
“Let this not be the end. Let it be the beginning of more action, more collaboration, and more commitment to Kenya’s forests and future. When you plant a seedling, you are contributing to a sustainable future and a better world.”
