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The document critiques carbon emission markets, including 'cap and trade' and 'offsetting' mechanisms, as ineffective tools for climate action. It asserts that these systems allow historical polluters to avoid reducing emissions at the source while causing human rights abuses and 'climate colonialism' in the Global South. The briefing specifically warns against the adoption of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement at COP25, arguing that it would institutionalize these flawed mechanisms and prioritize corporate interests over climate justice.

The fact sheet advocates for a binding UN Human Rights Treaty to close the gap in international law where corporations escape accountability for cross-border activities. It contrasts the strong legal protections afforded to corporate rights via free trade agreements and investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) with the lack of legal recourse for victims of corporate abuse. The document provides examples of corporate misconduct in El Salvador, Nigeria, Colombia, and Indonesia, highlighting issues such as water pollution, gas flaring, land-grabbing, and deforestation, while arguing that voluntary corporate responsibility codes are insufficient.

The document provides the technical annexes for the Forest Declaration Assessment, detailing the definitions and methodologies used to measure deforestation, forest degradation, and restoration potential. It establishes a 'gross zero' deforestation benchmark for 2030, requiring a linear 10 percent annual reduction in loss relative to a 2018-2020 baseline. The methodology incorporates satellite data and econometric models to estimate GHG emissions from forest loss and identifies 'cost-effective' restoration potential based on a carbon price threshold of USD 100/tCO2eq. A provided table lists the 30 countries with the highest absolute levels of deforestation in 2021, showing varied trends such as a 3% increase in Brazil and a 25% decrease in Indonesia compared to the baseline.

The Jubilee Insurance Company of Kenya Limited implemented a three-phased leadership development programme starting in 2013-14 to address challenges such as low staff morale and poor communication. The programme progressed from personality assessments and 360° surveys to a planned phase of building internal coaching capabilities. Early results indicate improvements in leadership cohesion, employee engagement, and business metrics, including a revenue increase from Kes. 15.48 billion in 2013 to Kes. 21.17 billion in 2014 and a reduction in staff turnover from 15% in 2012 to 10.7% in 2015.

The report examines seven key credit innovations—scoretechs, invoicetechs, lending aggregators, telco-based lenders, pay-as-you-go (PAYG), peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, and edufintech—across South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda. It finds that while digital metamorphosis is improving financial inclusion, credit access remains low, with domestic credit in sub-Saharan Africa at 39% of GDP. Telco-based lending is the most successful model in East Africa, while South Africa leads in MSME financing innovations. However, many models face challenges including high non-performing loans (NPLs), high cost of capital, and a lack of patient capital, particularly in education finance. The report recommends transitioning to hybrid customer acquisition models, leveraging blockchain to reduce fraud, and establishing more supportive regulatory sandboxes.

The report identifies that while insurance innovation exists across Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, it is not yet leveraged to reach underserved segments like MSMEs and rural inhabitants at scale. Key constraints include high mobile data costs, low consumer trust, a significant STEM skills gap, and risk-averse corporate boards. Regulatory frameworks are generally not seen as major barriers, but gaps remain in digital onboarding clarity and license categories for insurtechs. The document recommends that regulators move beyond formal regulation to use proactive market engagement, streamlined supervisory processes, and upgraded digital monitoring systems to foster inclusive insurance growth.

FSD Africa's 2025-2030 strategy aims to transform the continent's financial system to better support sustainable growth and climate resilience. The agency intends to mobilise domestic private capital—estimated at $2.4 trillion—to address gaps in energy transition, climate adaptation, and SME financing. Key implementation plans include the creation of four Centres of Expertise and a Catalytic Transactions Team to build a pipeline of bankable green projects. The strategy sets specific targets, including adding 1,500 megawatts of energy capacity and creating or protecting 200,000 jobs.

The Africa Green Bond Toolkit, developed by FSD Africa and the Climate Bonds Initiative, serves as a practical manual for entities in Africa to issue green bonds. It outlines the structural differences between green and vanilla bonds, detailing how proceeds must be exclusively allocated to projects with environmental benefits. The document guides issuers through the pre-issuance phase—including the creation of a Green Bond Framework and independent verification—and the post-issuance phase, focusing on reporting and auditing. It highlights global benchmarks such as the Green Bond Principles (GBP) and the Climate Bonds Standard (CBS), while providing African case studies from South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria to demonstrate investor demand and the role of credit guarantees in market development.

The Africa Pensions Supervisors’ Network Programme (October 2021 – September 2025) addresses the fact that Africa’s pension assets are less than 1% of global assets and coverage is only 9.6%. The programme aims to encourage long-term retirement savings and create a regulatory environment that supports the investment of pension assets into the real sector to promote economic development and poverty reduction. Key activities include convening pension sector actors and supporting the annual Africa Pensions Supervisors Forum (APSF), including a 2022 event in Kigali and a subsequent Memorandum of Understanding between FSD Africa and APSF.

This report by the CIFAR Alliance Investors Working Group explores how fintech innovations—specifically in data and digital infrastructure, online marketplaces, and insurtech—can scale climate resilience solutions for vulnerable communities in emerging markets. It presents 11 case studies of ventures that address both acute weather-related disasters and chronic long-term climate changes affecting livelihoods.

The document provides a statistical overview of remittances from the UK to Africa, detailing the cost as a percentage of the amount sent, the size of the diaspora population in the UK, and the total annual amount of money sent for 16 African nations. Nigeria is the largest recipient by volume, with £2,363 million sent annually, while Tanzania has the highest cost of sending at 14%.

The document details the impact of FSD Africa's BimaLab accelerator on Soso Care in Nigeria. Soso Care provides health micro-insurance to low-income earners who pay premiums using recyclable waste. Through BimaLab's non-monetary support, Soso Care optimized operations and formed strategic partnerships with entities such as AXA, AIICO, Wema Bank, and the Port Harcourt Municipal Government. The initiative also emphasizes gender equality, with women making up 70-80% of Soso Care's 600+ agents and supporting 7,000 women through income-generating opportunities.

The partnership between FSD Africa and Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company Limited (InfraCredit) has facilitated 1.6 billion Naira in local funding for DarwayCoast, a Nigerian solar power company. This support has enabled the deployment of six solar mini-grid projects across Abia and Rivers States, which are expected to produce 541.76 kW of solar energy and connect 7,711 households by September 2023. The initiative addresses the high cost of capital for greenfield infrastructure, where local interest rates can reach 27%, and includes a focus on gender inclusion through InfraCredit's gender action plan.

The Nigerian Green Bond Market Development Programme aims to broaden investment in green projects to alleviate a severe energy crisis where 86 million people lack electricity. The programme supports sovereign and corporate issuances, including a demonstration green bond and a specific NGN 3 billion bond for OneWattSolar to deploy 750 off-grid solar systems. Nigeria's enhanced Nationally Determined Contributions target a 20% emission reduction, with a further 47% conditional on securing an estimated USD 177 billion in investment.

FSD Africa invested US$4.5 million into Nithio FI, an AI-driven climate finance platform that provides receivables-backed financing to off-grid solar companies. As of June 2023, Nithio had committed $26.5 million in total capital and extended $19.8 million in loan commitments across ten investments. The initiative has improved energy access for nearly 244,000 people, supported 5,636 entrepreneurs, and deployed nearly 80,000 energy systems, resulting in a reduction of 665,654 metric tons of CO2 emissions. Nithio specifically targets 'tier 3' local firms—smaller companies that have grown through bootstrapping—and utilizes a Risk Analytics Engine for credit risk assessment and gender-disaggregated impact tracking.

The 'Kit d’Outils d’Obligations Verte Afrique' is a practical guide developed by FSD Africa and the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) to support the issuance of green bonds in Africa. It outlines the structural similarities between green and conventional bonds, while detailing the specific requirements for environmental benefit allocation, transparency, and reporting. The document explains global benchmarks such as the Green Bond Principles (GBP) and the Climate Bonds Standard (CBS), and provides a step-by-step issuance process including pre-emission preparation and post-emission verification. It also highlights successful case studies from South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria to demonstrate investor demand and the role of credit guarantees in local market mobilization.

The FSD Africa and FSDAi venture finance portfolio consists of numerous funds and platforms targeting climate action, gender-lens investing, and financial inclusion across the African continent. Key climate-focused initiatives include Africa Climate Ventures, which aims to reduce 100 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2030, and the Catalyst Fund, which targets 40 pre-seed climate resilience start-ups. Gender-focused funds such as Aruwa Capital and RiTA Fund I specifically address capital imbalances for female-led businesses. The portfolio also includes sector-specific vehicles for fintech (First Circle Capital), insurance (Inclusive Insurance Investment Fund), and renewable energy (Nithio, Spark Energy), utilizing a mix of equity, grants, and debt to catalyze private investment and drive sustainable economic growth.

FSD Africa co-funded the Digital Frontiers Institute (DFI) from 2016 to 2021 to train digital finance professionals in low-middle income countries. The partnership established the Certified Digital Finance Practitioner (CDFP) qualification and reached over 15,000 professionals. Key achievements include the creation of 22 Communities of Practice across 20 countries and the development of 47 DFS regulations, policies, or directives.

The Nigerian Green Bond Market Development Programme (NGBMDP) aimed to develop a non-sovereign green bond market in Nigeria between 2018 and 2021. The programme successfully facilitated the issuance of 4 corporate green bonds and 2 sovereign green bonds, raising a total of ₦58.51 billion in sovereign issuances and ₦32.83 billion in corporate issuances. Key achievements include the training of over 500 capital market professionals, the development of mandatory Nigeria Green Bond Guidelines by the SEC in December 2018, and the certification of local verifiers such as Rubicola Consulting Limited and Agusto & Co. Limited. The programme also supported the launch of the FMDQ Green Exchange in November 2021 to improve transparency and ESG reporting. Despite these gains, the report notes that the market remains in its infancy, with a heavy reliance on public sector financing and a need for a larger pipeline of bankable green projects.

The document analyzes insurance penetration and market performance in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, and Rwanda, highlighting a significant risk-protection gap. In Nigeria, only 8% of 138 million adults with bank accounts and mobile phones are covered by insurance. Across the four countries, the combined insurance asset base exceeded USD 10 billion in 2016, yet investments remain predominantly short-term, and a large portion of non-life risk is transferred offshore, particularly in Nigeria (81%) and Ghana (65%).