My FF Forest review: 18% interest | €3,000 invested

Forestry projects are a very small but increasingly popular niche in the P2P market. FF Forest is a new platform that offers forestry investments with a very attractive 18% interest rate per annum. Find out how it works and what the catch is here.

82/100

Points

18% interest with forest investments

Invest sustainably

1% Extra Cashback (180 days) + 3% Cashback until December

To the provider*

What is FF Forest?

When they hear the term P2P, most investors think of consumer loans, such as those offered by Swaper, or real estate projects like Devon. Few, however, consider investing in forests. This is a mistake, as FF Forest demonstrates.

We use our capital to help the company acquire, enhance and profitably sell forest land. Here’s how it works in detail:

• FF Forest buys undervalued land. This could be, for example, cleared forests or fallow land.
• After the purchase, reforestation begins. Either the company takes on this task itself or leases it to foresters.
• The company receives CO₂ certificates from the European Union for reforestation, which are highly valuable.
• Once sufficient land has been acquired (approximately 1,000 hectares), the entire area is sold to forestry companies, banks or other investors.
• The CO₂ certificates and sales proceeds generate additional profit for FF Forest.

Investors like you and me act as financiers. With our capital, the company can purchase new areas and grow much faster. In return, we receive a handsome 18% interest rate.

You may already be familiar with the concept from competitor Debitum: the P2P marketplace offers two similarly structured companies for investment, namely ‘Bono’ and ‘Latvian Forest Fund’. Here, too, I have already had very good experiences with forest investments.

Like FF Forest, these companies are based in Latvia. This small Baltic country is known for its strong forestry industry, making it ideal for such P2P projects. Expansion into Finland and Estonia is also being sought.

Who is behind FF Forest?

The experience of the management team is crucial in P2P projects. At the latest in the event of a crisis, seasoned experts should be at the helm! This is the case at FF Forest, but not necessarily in a positive sense:

• CEO Gunars Udris previously worked for many years at P2P provider Crowdestor.
• The platform granted corporate loans that defaulted in droves, causing investors to incur heavy losses.
• I also described Crowdestor as one of my 5 worst P2P platforms in an older article.
• When asked about this in a personal conversation, Gunars pointed out the completely different starting situation (FF Forest is not a ‘middleman’ like Crowdestor, but a borrower itself).

It should also be emphasised at this point that negative experiences are particularly valuable lessons: Gunars Udris is likely to have learned his lesson during his time at Crowdestor and is now acting much more cautiously.

He is also a partner in the crypto company FinForta, which is also actively involved in FF Forest. In future, investors’ claims will be recorded via blockchain.

A crypto company does not exactly inspire a sense of security among investors, but storage in the blockchain is generally a harmless use case. FinForta is also a company with a good reputation and a high level of professionalism, which benefits the entire project.

The rest of the team is small: only six people currently work for the company. Its small size can be a huge advantage, as it allows for a fast and efficient way of working!

Available projects at FF Forest

If you already have experience with Ventus Energy, Devon or similar platforms (high interest rates + high minimum amount), FF Forest may seem a little unusual to you.

This is because the individual projects you invest in here are very similar. That’s just the nature of the business: forests don’t differ greatly from one another. Nevertheless, you can find all the important information on the platform:

• The designation with a serial number, beginning with the year
• The number of hectares covered by the respective forest area
• Size of the project and how much has already been financed
• Minimum amount that must be invested
• Interest you receive on your capital
• Interest payments (daily)
• Start date, end date and total duration
• Exit conditions: Early exit is usually possible after 6 and 12 months, but this will slightly reduce your interest rate.

There is also a general text, but it does not provide any further information (there is not much to say about wooded areas anyway). Instead, it simply explains the FF Forest business model once again.

All in all, everything you need is there. Since there are few differences between the projects and your money ultimately always goes to the same company, the selection process is very straightforward in my experience.

82/100

Points

18% interest with forest investments

Invest sustainably

1% Extra Cashback (180 days) + 3% Cashback until December

To the provider*

Cryptocurrencies, blockchain and tokenisation

The keywords cryptocurrencies and blockchain do not exactly inspire confidence among investors: the terms are commonly associated with fraud and high losses. FF Forest also has crypto on board.

But before you run away and start looking for another high-yield investment, you should take a look at the facts. FF Forest only uses blockchain technology in two areas:

1. Registration of claims

When you invest in a forestry project via the platform, you have certain rights. These include, for example, claims in the event of insolvency. FF Forest wants to store these claims on a blockchain in future. The information will be converted into a token and stored on the OpenSource network.

This is simply a somewhat unusual form of database. It has its own advantages and disadvantages, but the most important point is this: it doesn’t matter where your claims are stored (in a blockchain or on a piece of paper). They exist either way!

Blockchain storage is therefore just a nice gimmick. In my experience, no P2P platform offers similar technology. However, it has no practical or legal impact on the company or our investment.

2. Deposit via cryptocurrency

Instead of just bank transfers, you can also deposit money at FF Forest using cryptocurrencies. Currently, only the stablecoin USDC is accepted for this purpose.

This offer makes sense when we look at the activities of CEO Gunars Udris: he is a partner in the crypto company FinForta, which handles crypto payments at FF Forest.

Here, too, alarm bells should ring for experienced investors: payments via crypto are usually not a good sign! The market is unregulated, volatile and rife with fraudsters.

However, the important message is that FF Forest only offers payment transactions via crypto and is otherwise not exposed to the risks of the crypto market. You can take advantage of this offer or simply continue to make payments in euros. The crypto option therefore has no disadvantages for you or your investment.

How to register with FF Forest

18% interest, 3% cashback (until December 2025) and 1% cashback through my bonus link are, of course, very tempting. If you don’t want to miss out on this total of 22% interest, you should register right away!

Fortunately, it’s very easy to do. In my experience, the whole process takes less than 10 minutes.

You will need:

• An identity document (passport, identity card or residence permit)
• A bank account for depositing/withdrawing money
• A smartphone or computer with a camera and internet connection
• An email address or Google account or Web3 wallet

Let’s get started:

1. E-Mail and Password

Clicking on my bonus link will take you to the FF Forest website. There you will find the neon green ‘Register’ button. This will take you to the first input screen, where you can enter your email address and a password. Alternatively, you can also log in with your Google account or your Web3 wallet.

2. The dashboard

Regardless of which registration method you choose, you will be taken to your dashboard (if you register via email, you will need to confirm your address in your inbox). You won’t see much here at first, as the registration process is not yet complete.

3. Identification and questions about yourself

If you already have experience with P2P lendings, you know how it works: the provider must clearly verify your identity to avoid problems with the authorities. FF Forest uses the provider Veriff for this purpose.

If you have completed the registration process on a computer, you will now be redirected to your smartphone. Here, you will need to record a selfie video and hold your ID document up to the camera. The process only takes a few seconds and does not require any contact with a service representative.

4. Answer questions and deposit money

Next, you will need to answer a few questions about yourself. This step is probably the easiest and, in my experience, only takes a few seconds. Now the registration process is complete and you are ready to go.

To do this, you must deposit capital in order to invest in forest projects. You can choose between a traditional bank transfer and a deposit via cryptocurrency (USDC).

How to receive your bonus

FF Forest currently offers 18% for its forest projects. In addition, you receive 3% cashback if you deposit money in November and December. This means that 3% of your invested capital is immediately credited back to your account in cash.

In addition, you can secure a further 1% cashback bonus by using my registration link. All you have to do is complete the registration process via my link. This means you can receive a total bonus of 4% and 22% interest!

82/100

Points

18% interest with forest investments

Invest sustainably

1% Extra Cashback (180 days) + 3% Cashback until December

To the provider*

My FF Forest experience: 18% interest on a €3,000 investment

With FF Forest, I am already generating a substantial passive income from P2P loans with an investment of ‘only’ €3,000: the platform credits me with over €1.50 per day!

There isn’t much to say about my investments. As already mentioned, the forestry projects are all structured in a very similar way. A forest is a forest, after all. But that doesn’t matter, because I reliably receive 18% interest per annum!

It should be noted that:

• The cashback bonus is not listed under the average return. For example, according to the FF Forest Dashboard, I ‘only’ earned 18%, even though I was credited with the cashback bonus.
• Daily interest payments are of course also possible. The money will then remain in your FF Forest account until you transfer it to your bank account. However, you will miss out on the powerful compound interest effect!
• If you take advantage of the option to exit the project early, your return will be reduced: if you exit after 6 months, you will only receive 15% interest, and after 12 months, you will receive 16.5%.

Taxes at FF Forest: What you need to know!

If you make profits from P2P investments, you must declare them yourself in your tax return.

As FF Forest is not a regulated platform, there is no withholding tax for German investors.

The tax process could become even simpler in the future. In my experience, platforms almost always find ways to reduce the tax burden for their customers. For example, competitor Devon quickly relocated its headquarters to Estonia, which has no withholding tax.

Risk with FF Forest: How secure is my money?

If you are looking for a safe investment, FF Forest is probably not for you: interest rates of up to 22% do not come without a certain amount of risk.

When you invest, you expose yourself to the following risks:

• CO₂ certificates: They represent an additional source of income for the company. However, the price of certificates fluctuates and could well fall in the future. Even a complete halt to certificate trading would be theoretically possible, but this would not really affect the actual business model.
• Sale of timber and land: FF Forest sells timber, logging rights and the land itself. If the forests lose value (e.g. due to pest infestation, forest fires, storms, etc.), the company’s business model is also in jeopardy.
• Reforestation: A key step in the process is the reforestation of the acquired land. However, this is by no means a simple or guaranteed successful process! Delays, rising costs or failures are possible here.
• Typical P2P risks: Forest investments are also subject to the typical platform risks associated with P2P providers. These include, for example, fraud, insolvency, changes in the legal framework or a lack of transparency on the platform. Unfortunately, we can never completely rule these out.

However, it is important to mention the positive aspects as well!

• At a maximum of two years, the terms at FF Forest are comparatively short. This means that your capital is not tied up for an excessive amount of time.
• The option of early exit and the planned secondary market provide additional flexibility.
• If investors’ claims are actually stored on a blockchain in future, this will greatly increase transparency. However, traditional ‘offline’ recording will continue to exist.
• Forests are tangible assets, and the prices of forest land have risen steadily in recent decades. Even in the event of insolvency, therefore, there is likely to be considerable value remaining.
• The business model is based on multiple income streams (Leasing, sales, CO₂ certificates). This means we are not dependent on a single source of income.
• Other P2P platforms have already proven that the concept can work very well: for example, I have had very good experiences with forestry providers on Debitum and investing in agricultural land with Lande.

82/100

Points

18% interest with forest investments

Invest sustainably

1% Extra Cashback (180 days) + 3% Cashback until December

To the provider*

Advantages and disadvantages of FF Forest

Overall, FF Forest is an unusual project and therefore difficult to assess at first glance. I have therefore summarised the most important advantages and disadvantages for you:

Alternatives to FF Forest

Enormously high interest rates, but also considerable risk, are no longer a rarity in P2P provider comparisons. FF Forest must therefore compete with a number of potential rivals:

1. Ventus Energy: Up to 17% interest + 6% bonus!

At Ventus Energy, we invest directly in energy projects such as power plants, solar installations and electricity infrastructure. In return, the company rewards us with 17% interest. Thanks to the now famous Ventus Energy bonus of 5% for new customers plus 1% cashback when you register via my link, you can earn up to 23% per annum!

Unfortunately, a very high minimum investment of €1,000 per loan is also required. By comparison, with FF Forest, you can get started with as little as €500.

You can find all the important information in my Ventus Energy review.

52/100

Points

Up to 17% interest with energy projects

The energy projects are already generating profits

Get a 1% extra bonus (60 days) + 5% cashback

REDEEM BONUS*

2. Indemo: 25% interest through debt securities!

Indemo also offers very high returns through tangible assets, but focuses on “discounted bonds.” The company acquires defaulted real estate loans, auctions off the buildings, and shares the profits with us. Individual projects can yield profits of over 40%!

The returns are not guaranteed, but in my experience they have been at least 20% and in most cases significantly higher. As with FF Forest, you need to be prepared to invest some time, as your money will be tied up for a while. However, in my opinion, it’s a very attractive offer!

You can find all the details in my Indemo review.

57/100

Points

Up to 25.3% return on Spanish real estate loans

Supervised by the Central Bank of Latvia

Up to 4% return on your investment

REDEEM BONUS*

3. Lande: up to 16% with agricultural loans

Forests are not the only usable land that can generate lucrative profits! Lande offers loans for agriculture. Our capital can be used to purchase new fields, machinery or seeds, for example.

This means that we are not only making a valuable contribution to agriculture, but also receiving attractive interest rates: on average, the interest rate here is around 12%, but individual projects can also achieve up to 16%.

As always, you can find everything you need to know in my Lande review.

81/100

Points

11% interest with agricultural loans

Each project is secured with (LTV) 44%

3% cashback on your investment for the first 30 days

REDEEM BONUS*

Conclusion on my FF Forest experience: Exciting industry, high interest rates, serious risk

FF Forest is the first P2P provider to focus exclusively on forests. The company purchases undervalued land, reforests it, and then leases or sells it. In doing so, it also receives valuable CO₂ certificates from the EU!

Investors like you and me finance the concept with our assets and are rewarded with extremely high interest rates in return: currently 18% per year, plus cashback bonuses of up to 4%.

In return, however, you must have at least €500 and a willingness to take risks. This is because there is no experience with this very young platform yet, and the business model could well fail.

After talking to the CEO, I decided to invest €3,000 and gain some initial experience myself. I am currently earning over €1.50 in interest per day!

These figures are certainly impressive and fit perfectly into my portfolio. If FF Forest can maintain these results in the long term, it could become one of the most attractive providers in the P2P sector. For those who prefer less concentration risk, Debitum offers an alternative forest investment.

FAQ – Frequently asked questions