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African ClimateTech has grown significantly, with funding increasing from $206 million in 2016 to over $1.5 billion in 2025, now accounting for nearly 40% of all disclosed venture funding on the continent. However, this growth is highly concentrated: the top 10 companies raised as much as all other companies combined, and Energy accounts for roughly 65% of total funding. The report argues that the ecosystem is not a single market but a collection of applications maturing at different speeds. Energy Generation has reached 'Early Maturity,' while Mobility & Transport is in 'Late Frenzy.' Conversely, Water Access and Built Materials remain in 'Irruption.' A critical finding is that financial maturity, rather than technological readiness, is the primary constraint, with significant gaps in early-stage equity and working capital. The report advocates for 'tailored capital stacks' that combine grants, equity, and debt based on the specific maturity stage of each application.

Africa's green transition is projected to generate between 3.8 and 7.9 million jobs by 2030, rising to 65.9–84.5 million by 2050. The report argues that this growth will be service-led and decentralized, with indirect roles—such as installation, distribution, and maintenance—accounting for 56% of employment by 2030. Clean cooking is identified as the largest green value chain by 2030. However, the report highlights significant structural inequalities: 86% of 2030 green jobs are projected to be informal, and women remain concentrated in low-value roles despite high participation in sectors like clean cooking. The analysis of South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya reveals diverse transition architectures, ranging from South Africa's formal, utility-scale model to Nigeria's nano-enterprise-driven decentralized approach. Key recommendations include directing finance toward service-led value chains, reforming TVET systems through modular programs, and extending social protection to informal workers via mobile platforms.

The report asserts that capital markets are essential for African economies to finance climate adaptation, infrastructure, and demographic shifts amidst declining foreign aid and FDI. It argues that while public equity markets have limited utility for smaller or frontier markets due to high costs and information asymmetries, corporate bond markets and hybrid structures—combining public disclosure with private flexibility—offer more practical pathways. The author emphasizes that macroeconomic stability and pension reforms are foundational to increasing the domestic savings base. The document recommends using guarantees, pooled investment vehicles, and project preparation platforms to increase institutional investor confidence and develop bankable projects in infrastructure, housing, and MSMEs.

The report assesses the state of asset management and pension systems across Africa, highlighting a general trend of conservative investment strategies, low retail participation, and uneven regulatory oversight. It identifies a strong prevalence of defined benefit and pay-as-you-go pension schemes, particularly in francophone and lusophone countries, while anglophone nations lean toward funded defined contribution models. Key challenges include low coverage for informal workers and women, limited ESG integration, and a heavy reliance on government securities. The document recommends shifting toward risk-based supervision, expanding micro-pension schemes, and developing national ESG taxonomies to deepen capital markets.

FSDAi invested in the International Housing Solutions (IHS) Kenya Affordable Green Housing Fund to finance EDGE-certified homes for low- and middle-income households, targeting 4,000 homes by 2030. To drive systemic change, FSDAi mandated an Open Source Policy and funded the Centre for Affordable Housing Finance in Africa (CAHF) to lead an Open Access Initiative (OAI). This initiative collects and disseminates market intelligence on construction costs and project delivery to attract institutional capital and guide policymakers. The OAI has also enabled the tracking of six Kenyan State Department for Housing and Urban Development projects and the creation of the Nairobi Metropolitan Area Dashboard.

FSDAi Nyala Facility provided a $1 million investment to WIC Capital, the first fund in Francophone West Africa dedicated to women-led businesses. This investment enabled WIC Capital to expand its portfolio to include high-potential SMEs of any age and attract further funding, including from the Dutch government. WIC Capital combines financial support with technical assistance, mentoring, and training in leadership, accounting, and marketing. Examples of impact include Mburu, a Senegalese bakery that grew its annual revenue tenfold and increased its staff from 15 to 50 employees, and Arbre de Vie Group, which established a new cosmetics lab and is preparing for international expansion.

WIC Capital, launched in 2019 and supported by the FSDAi Nyala Facility, provides financial capital and technical assistance to women-led SMEs in Francophone West Africa, specifically improving access to growth financing in Senegal.

The report examines the role of securitisation in developing African capital markets, noting that while South Africa has a mature market, other sub-Saharan regions remain nascent. It identifies significant barriers, including fragmented legal and tax frameworks, a lack of a 'ratings culture', and limited understanding among financial institutions. Despite these challenges, the study finds a substantial supply of securitisable assets in banking, microfinance, and fintech sectors. It recommends a holistic regulatory approach, the use of anchor investors from DFIs and MDBs, and the adoption of scalable structures like warehouse facilities to mobilise private capital and bridge the private credit gap.

FSD Africa expresses its support for the second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) in Addis Ababa, emphasizing the need to mobilize domestic private capital and demonstrate that climate investment and economic growth are complementary goals.

The document details a pilot flood insurance initiative in Kenya designed to provide financial resilience to vulnerable populations in flood-prone areas. Following a feasibility study in Tana River, Kilifi, and Kisumu counties, Britam Insurance Kenya and FSD Africa launched a product that provided payouts to 300 families in Tana River County during the October–December 2023 floods. The programme specifically targeted marginalized groups, with 75% of insured households headed by women, youth, or persons with disabilities. The initiative utilized catalytic funding from FSD Africa and premium subsidies from Oxfam Kenya, with Swiss Re covering 80% of claims, establishing a model for scaling climate adaptation and disaster response in other Kenyan regions.

Saglan Wajee General Hospital has introduced Efoy, a micro-health insurance product designed for underserved communities in Ethiopia. Supported by FSD Africa's BimaLab Insurtech Accelerator Program, the hospital secured a license from the National Bank of Ethiopia to launch Efoy 1.0, which attracted over 1,200 customers in its first year with annual premiums starting at 400 birr (4 USD) per child and 800 birr (8 USD) per adult. The subsequent Efoy 2.0 version expanded coverage to include chronic patients and services like MRI and medication, reaching an additional 900 clients. The hospital plans to expand its network to 130 health facilities and open a branch in Addis Ababa.

Farm to Feed addresses food waste in Kenya by purchasing surplus and imperfect produce from farmers and selling it to B2B customers or donating it to schools. Supported by FSD Africa's Catalyst Fund, the company has scaled its network from 300 to 6,000 farmers, resulting in a 41% increase in farmer incomes and the prevention of 1,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions by saving 920,000 kg of food.

The document examines how COVID-19 containment measures and the resulting economic crisis disrupted insurance operations, product cycles, and balance sheets across 18 sub-Saharan African markets. While the pandemic strained the sector and highlighted pre-existing weaknesses, it created a catalyst for forced digitisation and a regulatory imperative to remove barriers to innovation.

The document outlines the impact of Covid-19 on the African insurance sector and the subsequent regulatory responses in sub-Saharan Africa. It highlights a trade-off between providing regulatory relief to insurers and monitoring market vulnerabilities. While the pandemic hindered operations like premium collection and claims processing, it also created opportunities for digitalization and the adoption of regtech and suptech. The current research seeks to evaluate these responses to guide future stability and crisis management.

The R3Lab Toolkit is designed to help insurance regulators in Africa foster responsible innovation while maintaining consumer protection. It outlines a four-step process: conducting innovation gap assessments, utilizing a taxonomy of regulatory and supervisory tools, integrating these tools into concrete action plans, and monitoring progress via a key performance indicators (KPI) framework. The toolkit builds on R3Lab's initial assessments of innovation states and barriers across eight Sub-Saharan African countries.

VUA Inc. is a social enterprise addressing the financial instability of small-scale fishers in Kenya, who face irregular incomes and limited access to formal credit. Supported by $55,000 in seed capital from the Triggering Exponential Climate Action (TECA) programme, VUA Inc. piloted a platform on Kiwayu Island that allows 38 fishermen to save during high seasons for use during lean periods. The enterprise also provides an AI-powered financial literacy tool, a small-scale loan programme for sustainable fishing equipment, and hygiene training to improve product value and environmental practices.

AquaMnara provides Kenyan aquaculture farmers with technical training, linkages to certified suppliers, and an e-voucher credit system to overcome financing gaps and environmental challenges. The initiative supports sustainable productivity, specifically targeting women through the provision of aquaculture cages and training, and has enabled individual farmers to expand operations and adopt solar-powered infrastructure.

A collaboration between FSD Africa and InfraCredit provided 1.6 billion Naira in local funding to DarwayCoast for solar mini-grid projects in Southern Nigeria. The initiative aims to provide clean energy to nearly 8,000 rural households across six sites in Abia and Rivers States, with 541.76 kW of solar energy expected by September 2023. FSD Africa provides technical support to help greenfield projects meet due diligence criteria, while InfraCredit uses a credit guarantee model to enable high-impact investments in the energy transition.

FSD Africa and FirstRand have collaborated to implement TNFD frameworks within the African financial sector, focusing on capacity building and piloting disclosures in high-impact sectors like agriculture and extraction. The initiative included training 10 C-suite or board-level executives and conducting regulatory road-mapping and networking events via the African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA) to address the continent's natural capital financing shortfall.

The Moroccan National Railways Office (ONCF) issued Morocco's first infrastructure Green Bond in 2022, raising 1 billion Moroccan dirhams (approximately £80 million) to refinance the high-speed rail link connecting Tangier to Kenitra. This rail service is powered entirely by wind energy and is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by over 2.5 million tonnes over 30 years. The financing was supported by partners including CDG Capital, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and FSD Africa.