Finance Earth, FSD Africa Launch $100 Million Fund to Back Nature-Based Carbon Projects

Environmental impact investment firm Finance Earth and financial sector development agency FSD Africa, through its investment arm, FSD Africa Investments (FSDAi), announced the launch of the Africa Nature Impact Fund, a new platform aimed at mobilizing capital for early-stage nature and nature-based carbon projects across Africa.

The organizations said that they have set a $100 million target for the new fund, with a goal to reach $20 million for its first close in 2027, including a $6.6 million cornerstone commitment from FSDAi.

Ann-Marie Chidzero, Chief Investment Officer, FSD Africa Investments, said:

“By anchoring the Africa Nature Impact Fund with much needed catalytic capital, we aim to de-risk high-integrity nature projects and crowd in the institutional and local investment that African landscapes and communities urgently need. This is exactly the kind of pioneering, high-impact structure FSD Africa Investments exists to support.”

According to the organizations, the launch comes at a time when over 62% of Africa’s GDP is dependent on natural capital, while investment in nature-based carbon and biodiversity projects remains significantly below the levels needed, leaving many high-potential initiatives unable to access the capital, technical support and market connections required to reach scale.

The organizations said that the new platform is designed to provide financing tailored to different stages of project development, from project preparation and commercial piloting to implementation, helping projects transition from pre-revenue stages to sustainable, long-term contracted revenues. The fund will focus exclusively on projects with meaningful benefit-sharing arrangements designed to direct a substantial share of gross carbon value to host communities.

The fund aims to protect or regenerate 4.5 million hectares of land, sequester or avoid more than 100 million tonnes of CO₂e over the lifetimes of its projects, and improve the livelihoods of 1.4 million people, half of them women. The fund is also targeting the protection of more than 60 animal and plant species and is aiming to generate approximately $450 million in economic benefits for local communities.

James Mansfield, Managing Director, Finance Earth, said:

“Africa holds a quarter of the planet’s biodiversity, yet nature-based projects across the continent face major challenges in accessing the patient, fairly structured capital they need to succeed. Africa Nature is designed to change this by financing projects equitably and building local investment and governance structures, so that African nature assets are financed by African financial institutions.”