Category: Press release

FSD Africa will support Acorn projects in the initial scale phase that aims to benefit around 3,000-5,000 small-scale farmers whilst Acorn has the ambition to reach 1 million farmers all over the globe following the scale-up.

Nairobi – 27 July 2022: FSD Africa and Rabobank ACORN / Rabo Foundation today launched their collaboration in helping small-scale farmers with their transition to Agroforestry, a sustainable and climate resilient farming practice.

Acorn – Agroforestry Carbon removal units for the Organic Restoration of Nature – is a program being developed by Rabobank to unlock the international carbon market for smallholder farmers in the developing world. It aims to help farmers transition to agroforestry at scale and monetize the carbon stored in the trees planted through Acorn’s global transparent and technology-enabled marketplace for carbon sequestration. The collaboration will focus on kick-starting new small-scale farmers’ agroforestry projects in Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia.

FSD Africa together with Rabo Foundation will provide finance to the small-scale farmers to help them transition to sustainable agroforestry. The local implementation partners will collect the farmer data and onboard the farmers onto the Acorn platform. They will then be able to sell carbon removal units (CRU) to corporate off-takers through Acorn’s technology-enabled marketplace. The proceeds of the CRUs will be used to pay back the loan. For FSD Africa as the financier, testing this innovative finance structure will be an important outcome of this first scale phase.

We are proud to acknowledge that this program will contribute to 8 out of 17 UN SDGs, including those related to poverty reduction, food security, reduction of pollution, economic productivity, resilience, sustainability of forests and capital mobilization.
Mark Napier, CEO – FSD Africa

Partnership to strengthen the continent’s pension sector, benefiting retirees and long-term savers.

Kigali, July 14 2022: The Africa Pensions Supervisors Forum (APSF) held its third annual forum in Kigali from July 14-15, 2022. The forum brought together pension supervisors from different African countries to deliver a harmonized approach for interventions and reforms in the pensions sector across the continent. The theme of the conference was “Resilience and sustainability of the pension sector amid the crisis- The case of covid 19 pandemic”.  Pension supervisors in Africa, relevant stakeholders, experts and partners in the pension industry shared experiences, discussed opportunities, challenges faced by the pension industry and new developments in the industry.

Through the network, countries will be better placed to tackle common problems and find solutions to challenges unique to Africa. The challenges include lower investment returns and Africa’s labour structure that comprises approximately 86% of labourers being in the informal sector and with limited access to the pension services.

By partnering with APSF we are jointly paving the way for a Harmonized approach towards interventions and reforms in the pensions sector. Our collaboration will forge solutions that speak to Africa’s unique pensions landscape.
Dr. Evans Osano, Director, Capital Markets – FSD Africa

London 14 July 2022: Global inclusive tech accelerator Catalyst Fund, managed by BFA Global, announced today that FSD Africa has invested $3.5M to anchor the Fund’s presence in Africa and scale its work as the leading accelerator and pre-seed impact fund for emerging market entrepreneurs.

With FSD Africa’s backing, Catalyst Fund will invest and offer hands-on venture-building support to high-impact startups that improve the resilience of underserved and climate-vulnerable communities, to support 40 pre-seed impact ventures in Africa. The accelerator will also continue to build strong innovation ecosystems by activating investors, capacity-building networks, and corporate innovators to unlock capital, attract talent and share knowledge about

Our partnership with Catalyst Fund will spur innovation by investing in and supporting entrepreneurs while at the same time helping to influence and expand the pool of investment in this space.
Juliet Munro, Director, Digital Economy – FSD Africa

23 June 2022, Nairobi: A new report from Vivid Economics by McKinsey and the UK-funded financial sector development agency FSD Africa underlines the importance for financial institutions to unlock the potential benefits of investing in businesses that protect and grow nature.

Applying first-of-its-kind analysis to three private banks and the financial systems of Zambia, Egypt, Ghana, Mauritius, Kenya, and South Africa, the report shows that for the most exposed lending portfolios, for example, in Zambia and Ghana, nature-related risks in agriculture and extractives could almost double expected losses by 2030, wiping $millions off the value of their loan books. These nature-related risks are comparable with climate-related risks seen in similar sectors.

The impacts of shifting to a nature-positive society are material and already underway. There is a significant upside to be captured but financial institutions must institute new approaches to portfolio management that get ahead of changing regulation – of consumer preferences, and of the huge economic damage threatened by tipping points in critical natural systems.
Mark Napier, CEO – FSD Africa

Tapping the capabilities of Africa’s emerging class of capital managers to address a systemic gap in finance for small and growing businesses

Nairobi: 9 June 2022

Our investment arm, FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi), has announced an £8 million investment to support a new class of investors who are financing Africa’s small businesses and consider gender equity a key driver of financial performance.

In partnership with the Collaborative for Frontier Finance (CFF), and the Facility Manager, a Joint Venture of Cardano Development and Total Impact Capital Europe, FSDAi will provide the critical anchor funding for a new special purpose vehicle, Nyala Venture.

Nyala Venture will bridge the funding gap left by other institutions, by targeting a new class of capital providers serving small and growing businesses, particularly those which are led by women or are applying a gender lens investment strategy in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda.

This new class of asset managers have better networks and embedded boots on the ground, enabling them to play a huge role in supporting and growing local businesses. Our support to them is part of our journey to discovering new investment avenues through which we could impact the overlooked but critical sectors of Africa’s economy and tap into the opportunity presented by women as investors and founders.
Anne-Marie Chidzero – Chief Investment Officer, FSD Africa

The new alliance aims to coordinate policies and practices at financial institutions, companies, regulators and policymakers toward the growth and protection of Africa’s natural resources

Nairobi: 8th June 2022 

A group of leading financial institutions from across Africa has come together with Ghana’s Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology & Innovation (MESTI), and the UK-funded financial sector development agency FSD Africa as founding members of the African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA).

The alliance, in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), will act as an African-led collaborative forum for mobilizing the financial community’s response to nature-related risks and opportunities across the continent. The ultimate aim of ANCA is to help grow and protect Africa’s natural capital by shifting financial flows from destructive activities for short-term gain to long-term stewardship of nature for sustainable economic growth.

Among the founding members are Access Bank, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), Ecobank, Equity Bank, FirstRand, Investec, Sanlam, Standard Chartered and Zanaco. FSD Africa is acting as coordinator for the alliance with global management consultancy Oliver Wyman acting as execution and knowledge partner. The Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) is also joining ANCA as a knowledge partner while initial support for the alliance is being provided by UNECA and the United Kingdom’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

ANCA is also working with the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) to provide an African voice in the development of its ‘beta’ reporting framework for nature-related risk and opportunities and is taking part in TNFD’s pilot testing programme. Announcements about other members joining ANCA from the public and private sectors are expected over the next few months.

The reliance of African nations on their rich natural capital is both a source of vulnerability and competitive advantage. The case is clear for realigning investments to deliver a nature-positive future for Africa. To achieve this, we need financial institutions, companies, regulators, and policymakers working together.
Mark Napier, CEO – FSD Africa

ANCA members will be joining with other leading figures representing the finance and policy sectors on 23^rd June 2022 at a landmark event to discuss why African leadership on nature will be critical to its economic development, the economic opportunities that could be unlocked by shifting capital into nature-positive activities and the risks of inaction and continued nature destruction.

The event will also be the first chance to hear the results of a major study by Vivid Economics and FSD Africa for ANCA which, for the first time ever, quantifies how nature-related opportunities and risks could impact the value of African financial institution portfolios.

Click here to register by June 21st.