Lately, the private equity industry has been good news for the environment in Africa.

From the continent’s declining forest cover to sustainable technologies, millions of dollars in funds are being lined up to invest in saving the environment.

Only recently, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), in partnership with the UK government put together a private equity fund of funds that will provide growth capital to firms in Africa, and other emerging markets that deliver resource efficiency and low-emission products and services.

The IFC Climate Catalyst Fund has its first tranche of investment from the two partners lined up. While IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, will invest up to $75 million in the fund; the UK government has approved an investment of $78.5 million from the UK’s International Climate Fund as part of its Climate Public-Private Partnership, or CP3, initiative.

According to Lars Thunell, IFC executive vice president and CEO, the Climate Catalyst Fund intends to assemble a diversified portfolio of private equity funds managed by established and emerging fund managers. This will go into direct co-investments in early and growth-stage companies that are developing innovative technologies and helping reduce climate change.

This new development comes in the wake of an announcement of a final close by US-based Global Environment Fund (GEF) of its forestry fund. At $209.6 million, the close of the GEF Africa Sustainable Forestry Fund which targets several countries in sub-Saharan Africa was $13.1 million above the initial $196.5 million target.

According to GEF, the investment vehicle that targets Gabon, Tanzania, South Africa and Malawi is the first private equity fund focusing solely on sustainable forestry in the region, adding that its strategy will focus on adopting best practices as well as obtaining Forestry Stewardship Council certification.

Investments by the GEF Africa Sustainable Forestry Fund will range from $15 million to $30 million.

Though this will mainly be into existing forests, the firm says that some investments would also be made in new plantations or natural forest concessions.

These new developments follow last year’s approval of six new investment funds by Overseas Private Investment Corporation, the US government’s development finance institution, which will see $875 million injected into emerging markets’ forestry and climate change.