Unlike many conservation-focused financing vehicles, Ecobank’s Nature Bond channels capital directly through Africa’s real economy — financing businesses and communities whose day-to-day activities shape environmental outcomes at scale.
Ecobank Group (www.Ecobank.com) has launched the world’s first ICMA commercial bank-issued Nature Bond on the London Stock Exchange, creating a new route for international and African capital to protect Africa’s biodiversity. Moody’s awarded the transaction its highest possible sustainability quality score, SQS1 Excellent. The bond will support African farmers, sustainable agriculture businesses and water systems, protecting some of the planet’s most important ecosystems.
Impact on the ground in Africa
Africa is home to some of the world’s most important natural capital, including arable land, tropical forests, freshwater systems and biodiversity across hundreds of millions of hectares. But, until now, private nature capital has not flowed to Africa at the scale the continent’s ecological significance warrants in global ecological resilience. Despite hosting 25% of global biodiversity, Africa receives less than 3% of nature finance
Ecobank’s Nature Bond is a direct response to this gap. It will support smallholder farmers adopting sustainable agricultural practices, agri-processors with verified deforestation-free supply chains, and water infrastructure protecting freshwater ecosystems relied upon by millions of people. Unlike many conservation-focused financing vehicles, Ecobank’s Nature Bond channels capital directly through Africa’s real economy — financing businesses and communities whose day-to-day activities shape environmental outcomes at scale.
The investments will be made in 24 markets, with significant deployment in biodiversity-priority countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Ghana. Importantly, 81% of the eligible lending pool is allocated to countries where agricultural land-use change is the primary driver of biodiversity loss, helping direct capital to the areas where it can have the greatest environmental impact.
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