LOMÉ, June 2, 2026 – Ecobank Group has launched the world’s first International Capital Market Association [ICMA]-aligned commercial bank-issued Nature Bond on the London Stock Exchange, creating a new channel for international and African capital to support the protection of Africa’s biodiversity. Moody’s has awarded the transaction its highest possible sustainability quality score, SQS1 Excellent.
The bond will support African farmers, sustainable agriculture businesses and water systems, helping to protect some of the planet’s most important ecosystems.
Impact on the ground in Africa
Africa is home to some of the world’s most valuable natural capital, including arable land, tropical forests, freshwater systems and biodiversity spanning hundreds of millions of hectares. Yet, until now, private nature finance has not flowed to Africa at the scale warranted by the continent’s critical contribution to global ecological resilience. Despite hosting 25 per cent of the world’s biodiversity, Africa receives less than 3 per cent of global nature finance.
Ecobank’s Nature Bond is a direct response to this funding gap. It will support smallholder farmers adopting sustainable agricultural practices, agri-processors with verified deforestation-free supply chains, and water infrastructure projects that protect freshwater ecosystems relied upon by millions of people.
Unlike many conservation-focused financing vehicles, Ecobank’s Nature Bond channels capital directly into Africa’s real economy, financing businesses and communities whose day-to-day activities have a significant impact on environmental outcomes.
Investments will be made across 24 markets, with substantial deployment in biodiversity-priority countries including Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Ghana. Notably, 81 per cent of the eligible lending pool is allocated to countries where agricultural land-use change is the primary driver of biodiversity loss, helping to direct capital to areas where it can deliver the greatest environmental impact.
The framework also incorporates independent monitoring and verification mechanisms, including deforestation screening and supply chain traceability requirements, to help ensure that financed activities deliver measurable nature-positive outcomes. Every eligible loan is subject to seven independently verified sustainability conditions.
The launch comes at a time when governments and investors worldwide are under increasing pressure to mobilise private capital for biodiversity protection and sustainable land use.
What is a nature bond?
Under ICMA’s secondary designation, a Nature Bond requires proceeds to contribute directly to nature-positive outcomes, including the transformation of economic activities that reduce the drivers of nature loss at scale.
Ecobank’s Nature Bond has been specifically designed to reach stakeholders that many conservation-focused instruments do not adequately serve — including farmers, agri-processors and water operators whose daily activities collectively shape ecosystem outcomes.
While green bonds typically finance a broad range of environmental objectives, the Nature Bond designation focuses the use of proceeds specifically on nature-related outcomes, including biodiversity conservation, sustainable agriculture, responsible land use and water infrastructure.
The transaction
The US$ 450 million bond was priced following strong investor demand, with the final order book exceeding US$ 1.36 billion — 3.9 times the original target size. The strength of investor interest enabled Ecobank to increase the transaction size by US$ 100 million and tighten pricing by 50 basis points.
The transaction attracted support from both international and African investors, demonstrating Ecobank’s unique ability to mobilise capital across global and African markets.
For the first time, international and African capital markets have a credible and scalable mechanism for financing the protection of Africa’s natural capital through the communities and businesses that depend on it.
Commenting on the transaction, Jeremy Awori, Group Chief Executive Officer of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, said: “This transaction marks a defining moment for sustainable finance in Africa. Investors did not simply support this bond — they demanded more of it, enabling us to increase its size and tighten pricing.
“We are not a bank that simply labels bonds. We have spent four years building the systems, governance and accountability required to make nature finance both credible and scalable across Africa.
“Ultimately, this bond is about the farmers, cooperatives and communities whose livelihoods depend on healthy ecosystems.”
Rachael Antwi, Group Head of Sustainability and ESRM at Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, added: “Nature finance will only scale across Africa if it is practical, measurable and firmly connected to the real economy. This bond has been designed to achieve exactly that by linking international capital to eligible lending for sustainable agriculture and water infrastructure across 24 countries.
“It reflects the systems and standards Ecobank has established to ensure that nature finance supports both environmental resilience and the communities whose livelihoods depend on healthy ecosystems.”
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