In 2026, the world’s tallest timber hybrid timber structure will rise–not in Europe, North America, or Australia–but in East Africa. The Burj Zanzibar, designed by OMT Architects, will stand in Zanzibar’s Fumba Town development, marking a milestone in mass timber construction.
While some may find it surprising that such a groundbreaking project is taking place in East Africa, the reality is that landscapes across the Global South have been pushing the boundaries on these types of green industries for decades - they are just often overlooked. Across the region, architects, developers, manufacturers, and builders are advancing sustainable building technologies, generating insights that could benefit the rest of the world.
In February 2025, the Climate Smart Forest Economy Program (CSFEP) hosted a learning discussion featuring leading experts in biobased construction from the Global South. Panelists included Leander Moons (OMT Architects, Kenya), Boogie Setiawan (Bamboo Village Trust, Indonesia), and Marcus van der Hoven (Mass Timber Technologies, South Africa). The discussion highlighted three key lessons the Global North could take from the Global South’s approach to biobased construction.
#1: Community-driven models drive more transformative change
The construction industry in the Global North is largely dominated by corporations focused on producing cost-competitive, low-carbon materials. While this approach supports the growth of biobased construction (and therefore, a greener industry overall), it often overlooks the potential for broader social benefits. In contrast, biobased construction initiatives in the Global South frequently prioritise co-benefits such as community wealth, job creation, access to affordable housing, and more resilient forests. In the Global North, biobased products are just products you use in buildings, the discussion pointed out. In the Global South, biobased products are an entire value chain and industry–as well as a product.
For example, in Zanzibar’s Fumba Town, contractor Volks.House has trained over 160 local fishermen in construction to meet their labor demand. This approach not only supports the project’s success but also enables skills development and provides stable, financially viable careers for local residents.
Across the tropical belt, the Bamboo Village Trust partners with villages to grow bamboo, creating sustainable livelihoods while restoring degraded landscapes through agroforestry. The organisation aims to establish 200 bamboo villages by 2030.
These community-based models in the Global South ensure local populations directly benefit from industry growth while fostering long-term local stewardship of natural resources. The Global North could adopt similar approaches by considering the full impact of their value chains. By viewing their products not just as commodities but as part of a broader social and environmental system, companies can make strategic choices that maximise benefits for people and landscapes, while minimising harm.
#2. Collaboration across the value chain is critical to achieving a tipping point for biobased construction
Biobased construction is already operating at scale in parts of the Global South, where timber, bamboo, and hybrid materials are increasingly common in new developments. For example, projects like the Bisate Lodge near Rwanda’s Volcanoes National Park (for which Mass Timber Technologies supplied close to 50 cubic meters of glulam) are demonstrating timber’s viability in the ecotourism sector.
Momentum is building, but achieving a true tipping point–where biobased materials become the default choice–will require changing the perceptions of sometimes-skeptical developers, regulators, and consumers. Unlike their counterparts in the Global North, businesses in the Global South often lack an established tradition of timber construction. To overcome challenges around consumer perception, they collaborate across the value chain–even with competitors–to showcase innovations in sourcing, materials, testing, and applications. By observing these unconventional collaborative strategies, Global North business leaders could identify new approaches that might effectively accelerate biobased construction adoption in their regions.
#3 Innovative financing and risk-sharing mechanisms are critical.
Despite promising developments, a major obstacle to scaling biobased construction in the Global South is a lack of investment. Many financial institutions perceive the sector as risky, particularly in emerging markets. Although some investors have taken on financial and logistical risks to advance the industry, these efforts remain limited. And where they exist, they often have high return expectations that make commercial financing a least favourable option for many businesses in the sector.
A key challenge is overcoming the perception that biobased industries in the Global South are financially unviable and require grant funding. In reality, many ventures could thrive with the right investment instruments to support scaling. The biobased construction sector would benefit from an expansion of social enterprise business models that balance profit with sustainability goals. By embedding biobased material businesses within local business ecosystems, the sector could create stable jobs, build expertise, and strengthen supply chains over time.
As the sector grows, innovative financing vehicles are emerging–from investment funds focused on regenerative forest economies to carbon-stored construction credits. As social enterprises in the Global South pioneer creative financing models to scale their businesses, the Global North should take note, drawing inspiration from these approaches to support the expansion of biobased construction in their own markets.
A Global Opportunity for Sustainable Growth
The advancements in biobased construction in the Global South offer several valuable lessons for the rest of the world. By learning from how industries in the Global South are developing community-driven models, collaborating with other businesses to drive toward a tipping point, and working to attract new financing mechanisms, the Global North may uncover new, innovative strategies to help countries accelerate their own transition to a low-carbon built environment.
Without a doubt, one thing is true: with increased collaboration and knowledge-sharing among actors around the world, the biobased construction industry has the potential to redefine the global building industry for the better.
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