Scoping the green bond landscape in Africa

The African green bond market is nascent and underdeveloped, with cumulative issuances of less than 1% of global volumes between 2012 and 2019. While South Africa, Morocco, and Nigeria lead the drive through national frameworks and issuances, the market faces significant barriers including a lack of technical capacity, insufficient supporting regulation, and a dearth of fiscal incentives. As of October 2019, 17 bonds totaling over US$2 billion had been issued across six states, with approximately 35% being climate certified. Opportunities for growth lie in greening infrastructure and sustainable urban development, provided that local conditions are reflected in guidelines and project pipelines are improved.

• The African green bond market is in an early stage of development, with cumulative issuances from 2012 to 2019 representing less than 1% of global volumes.
• As of October 2019, green bonds exceeding US$2 billion were issued in Africa, comprising 17 bonds across six states; about 35% (US$422 million) of these were climate certified.
• South Africa, Morocco, and Nigeria are the primary drivers of the market, having developed national frameworks and taken significant initiatives to expand green bond issuance.
• Several systemic barriers hinder market growth, including a lack of technical expertise in regulatory agencies, the absence of qualified local verifiers for certification, and a general lack of fiscal incentives, with Kenya being the only state providing incentives for infrastructure bonds.
• There are significant opportunities to scale the market by integrating sustainability into the continent's large infrastructure deficit and by funding sustainable urban development, such as energy-efficient systems and clean mass rapid transport.

APA

Marbuah, G. (2021). Scoping the green bond landscape in Africa. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/210205a-killeen-marbuah-green-bonds-db-2101d-final.pdf

Chicago

Marbuah, George. Scoping the green bond landscape in Africa. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2021. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/210205a-killeen-marbuah-green-bonds-db-2101d-final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Marbuah |first1=George |title=Scoping the green bond landscape in Africa |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=January 2021 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/210205a-killeen-marbuah-green-bonds-db-2101d-final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{marbuah2021scoping, author = {Marbuah, George}, title = {{Scoping the green bond landscape in Africa}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2021}, month = jan, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/210205a-killeen-marbuah-green-bonds-db-2101d-final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }