Q&A with Mombak Co-founder and CFO Gabriel Silva

Q: To start, can you briefly explain what Mombak does?

Mombak is a carbon removal company focused on large-scale reforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. We restore degraded pastureland – using native, biodiverse tree species – and generate high-integrity carbon removal credits. Our projects also deliver strong co-benefits, from the restoration of biodiversity to improved water resources and job creation in local communities. We are fully vertically integrated, which means we handle everything from planting to monitoring to credit sales. This allows us to ensure quality and transparency at every step.

Q: How do you see the outlook for your own business?
After having developed a solid track record, we are now getting ready for hypergrowth. We have around 20,000 hectares under management, with 9,000 hectares actively being reforested, and we are targeting one million tonnes of CO₂ removal per year. We’ve already raised significant equity and debt capital and earmarked our first fund for carbon removal and reforestation projects, and now we’re working on raising our second fund. The key is to increase productivity and bring down production costs while expanding. The voluntary carbon market is our main sales channel today, and we are eager to see regulatory markets evolve. That will open an even larger opportunity set.

Q: And what is the outlook for your market?
We are seeing a clear shift toward quality. In the past, some buyers focused only on the cheapest carbon credits, regardless of integrity. Today, demand is increasingly for high-quality, low-risk, removal credits that are measurable, verifiable, and durable. Players that are vertically integrated, like Mombak, are being rewarded for quality and credibility. We believe this trend will continue, which is very positive for us.

Q: What progress have you made since launching?
In the early days, our vision was ambitious but unproven. We had to raise capital, build a team, and convince buyers to pay a premium for high-quality carbon removal. Today, we’ve proven that our model works. We’ve signed landmark contracts with companies such as Microsoft and Google. We also issued the largest ever outcome bond with the World Bank, which set a new precedent for the market. It’s a 9-year, $225m million issue, where $36m is assigned to reforestation through Mombak’s activities.

Operationally, we employ more than 350 people across ten farms in four locations and have planted more than 10 million seedlings to date. We started with over 110 different native species, but after field testing we’ve narrowed it to around 30 that are resilient, carbon-effective and available in sufficient seed supply. One of our key differentiators is our R&D efforts. Without our investments in R&D and our focus on data, none of this would be possible.

Q: How have you structured your financing?
From the start, we developed a highly-scalable business model. To that end we have raised financing into off-balance sheet project equity vehicles of which AXA IM Alts is the largest investor. This allows us to raise billions of dollars without diluting Mombak’s valuation. This structure has also enabled us to raise debt alongside the project equity. This showed others in the market that accessing debt was a credible path.

A key milestone was signing a large offtake contract with Microsoft, which ultimately enabled us to raise the World Bank Outcome bond. We were also the first company to secure a credit line from Brazil’s development bank (BNDES) through its Fundo Clima program.

Q: What do you look for in a financing partner?
The most valuable financing partners are those who truly understand the carbon sector. Investors with dedicated natural capital teams tend to be more engaged and reciprocal. Working with AXA IM Alts gave us access to their sector expertise. For example, our collaboration means we have implemented ESG practices inspired by requirements to be IFC (International Finance Corporation) compliant.

Q: What do your future capital needs look like?
If you add up the potential areas we’ve identified for restoration, the total investable opportunity is north of $5bn. So our capital needs are significant, but we’re seeing much more interest and availability of capital now that we have demonstrated success both in the field and in the market.

Q: How would you describe the political risk of working in Brazil?

Carbon credit generation is a strategic priority for the Brazilian government, which recognises its potential as a major source of national revenue. With Brazil positioned to become the world’s largest exporter of carbon removal credits, this strong political alignment reinforces our confidence as we deploy significant capital into the opportunity.

Q: What have been the advantages of working with private market investors?
Private capital has allowed us to raise more funding than would have been possible from development finance institutions alone. It also drives efficiency. While our investors value the association with reforestation and climate solutions, their primary focus is on returns. That pressure is ultimately healthy, because it helps us build a sustainable and scalable business. I’m looking forward to partnering with more investment firms which have dedicated pools of capital for this type of opportunity.

Q: The idea of restoring native species at scale is relatively new. How have you built such a company?
Planting native species at large scale had not been done in Brazil before. We drew heavily on the Brazilian commercial forestry industry for operational expertise, since many of the activities — such as land preparation, planting, and maintenance — are similar whether you’re planting eucalyptus or native trees. We then combined this with academic expertise on native ecology. The result is a hybrid model: industrial-scale forestry practices applied to native-species restoration. On the R&D side, we’ve advanced genetic improvement programs for native trees, adapting techniques that had previously only been applied to commercial species like eucalyptus.

Q: What technologies do you use to monitor your projects?
We rely heavily on satellite imagery to evaluate new land acquisition opportunities, as well as to track growth and forest health. We also use drone imagery for carbon measurements. For biodiversity monitoring, we use bioacoustic sensors and also analyse water eDNA samples, which reveal changes in biodiversity. These tools allow us to quantify ecological benefits beyond carbon.

Q: What are your expectations for the upcoming COP in Brazil?
This year’s COP is particularly exciting because it will take place in Belém, in the Amazon itself. For the first time, we can show something tangible to visitors. Delegates will have the opportunity to see our large-scale reforestation projects firsthand during site visits we’re organising. We hope COP will also be a catalyst for regulatory progress, helping create pathways for high-quality carbon removals to participate in regulatory markets.

Q: Looking ahead, what is your long-term ambition?
Our ambition is to become the world’s leading carbon removal company, proving that large-scale native restoration can deliver both climate impact and financial returns. By scaling to millions of tonnes of carbon removal annually, while preserving biodiversity and improving livelihoods, we will show that reforestation is not just a local solution but a global one.