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Beyond Shock, Money or Mandate: Why African Banks Aren’t Taking Bold Climate Action — And What it Will Take to Move Forward
Africa is one of the most climate-vulnerable regions in the world. Yet though climate finance has emerged as a growing solution, African banks have yet to truly ramp up their climate lending. As Carla Legros and Anthony Mbithi argue, one reason for this lack of urgency is that the financial case for this lending has rarely been framed in ways that resonate with how banks operate — namely, as a clear money-making opportunity in the near to medium term. They share a framework for understanding financial institutions' level of engagement in climate finance, providing funders and policymakers with a tool they can use to match their interventions to banks’ institutional reality.
Compounding this, Commercial lenders have been the focus of extensive appeals and warnings, from across the development sector and in broader media coverage, about the moral or planetary imperative of boosting climate finance — but these attempts at persuasion have not yet proven to be an effective driver of institutional behavior. Without a clear story about where the profit will come from and how soon, climate remains a peripheral concern rather than a portfolio opportunity for these institutions.- Categories
- Environment, Finance, Investing
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Jacqueline Novogratz and Acumen Raise $300 Million For Off-Grid Solar In Africa
Backers include Green Climate Fund, IFC, Shinhan Bank, Nordic Development Fund and Soros Economic Development Fund.
- Categories
- Energy, Social Enterprise
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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KawiSafi Announces $90 Million in Approved Capital to Accelerate Climate Solutions Across Africa
With backing from the African Development Bank, the Green Climate Fund, the Schmidt Family Foundation, and the Quadrature Climate Foundation, Acumen’s second KawiSafi fund marks the next chapter for the climate-resilient growth platform developed by Acumen.
- Categories
- Energy, Environment, Investing
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Terraton Secures $11.5 Million to Scale Biochar Carbon Removal in Africa
Biochar, which converts agricultural waste into stable carbon while improving soil health, has become one of the most proven and scalable carbon removal methods.
- Categories
- Environment, Investing
- Region
- Global
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CrossBoundary Energy Secures US $40 Million Investment From Impact Fund Denmark to Deploy Clean Energy in Africa
The investment will help CBE build its rapidly expanding portfolio of clean energy projects in Africa.
- Categories
- Energy
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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British International Investment Anchors CRDB Bank’s Landmark Islamic Bond to Promote Financial Inclusion in Tanzania
Tanzania’s first large-scale Islamic bond issued by a private sector institution marks a major milestone in the country’s financial landscape.
- Categories
- Investing, Social Enterprise
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Green Alpha Investments Appoints Sustainable Finance Pioneer Erika Karp as President and Partner
As President, Karp will lead strategic partnerships and business development while working closely with the investment team to expand Green Alpha's reach and impact.
- Categories
- Investing
- Region
- Global
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Local Banks Back Sun King’s $156 Million Pay-As-You-Go Solar Financing in Kenya
The scale of this raise highlights Sun King’s leadership in off‑grid energy, but it also accentuates a growing divide in the market.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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