14Trees
Holcim-backed 3D concrete printing company that printed Africa's first 3D-printed school and the 52-home Mvule Gardens project in Kenya.
14Trees is a construction technology company specialising in 3D concrete printing (3DCP). It began as a joint venture between Holcim (then LafargeHolcim) and CDC Group, the UK development finance institution now called British International Investment (BII), set up to speed up the production of low-impact, affordable construction for homes, schools and social infrastructure in Africa. The company describes itself as "founded in Africa" and has since repositioned as a global player, with offices in Spain, the USA and Kenya and partners in the United States, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
Its first projects set several records on the continent. In 2020 it printed the walls of a prototype house in Lilongwe, Malawi, in 12 hours, against almost four days with conventional masonry, which 14Trees presents as the first 3D-printed building in Africa. In June 2021 it opened what it called the world's first 3D-printed school, in the Salima district of Malawi, whose walls were printed in 18 hours. It also printed a pilot classroom for Thinking Huts in Madagascar and an IFC EDGE Advanced-certified model house in Nairobi. Its largest project is Mvule Gardens in Kilifi, Kenya, a 52-house affordable housing complex printed in phases of 10 to 15 houses, using a printer able to build structures longer than 10 metres and Holcim's TectorPrint printing ink, produced in Kenya for the first time. 14Trees has also printed two control buildings totalling 628 m2 for Momnai Energy solar farms with a combined capacity of 21 MW.
In 2023 14Trees launched Iroko, a 3D construction printer described as made in Africa, co-designed and manufactured with equipment maker PMSA. It has an aluminium frame that can be mounted without cranes, fits in a container and uses a multi-laser system that checks print quality 50 times a second. On 30 April 2026 it launched Cedar with Indian partner Tvasta, which develops, engineers and manufactures the machine in India. Cedar is a portal-frame 3D concrete printer with print height up to 10 metres and a footprint extendable to 240 m2. It runs on standard concrete mixes rather than proprietary mortars, which the partners say can cut material costs by up to five times and capital cost by about half. The 14Trees AI Companion software optimises mix designs from locally available materials.
Beyond hardware, 14Trees sells 3DCP systems with on-site commissioning and maintenance, operator training, local material mix development, design and cost modelling, permitting and certification consulting, and on-site operational support. In October 2024 it closed a Series A-1 round led by Amazon's Climate Pledge Fund with founding investor Holcim, to fund a rollout of low-carbon 3D construction printing in Europe and the US. Francois Perrot is Managing Director; the board includes Holcim executives Alfonso Paradinas Aguilera and Bengt Steinbrecher (Head of Holcim MAQER Ventures).
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
Cedar 3D Concrete Printer
AI-ready portal-frame 3D concrete printer co-developed with Tvasta; prints up to 10 m high over a footprint extendable to 240 m2 using standard concrete mixes.
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Company Facts
Founded
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Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
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Primary Region
Europe
Annual Sales
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Funding Stage
Early-Stage VC
Funding Total
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