This week saw UK Minister for Nature, Rt Hon. Mary Creagh, meet with ANCA Governing Council members Arthur Oginga (Old Mutual Holdings), Eliane Ubalijoro (CIFOR-ICRAF) and Kaddu Sebunya (African Wildlife Foundation) alongside ANCA-affiliated CEOs Richard Marisin (Fidelity Insurance), Frank Mwiti (Nairobi Securities Exchange), Philip Lopokoiyot (ICEA LION), and Raimond Molenje (Kenya Bankers Association). Their discussions focused on the role of private capital in efforts to protect and restore Africa’s biodiversity.
They were joined by Ruth Davis, the UK’s Special Representative for Nature and Diana Dalton, the UK’s Deputy High Commissioner, to discuss how innovative financing solutions can help close the global $700bn a year gap in the investment needed to halt and reverse nature loss and share progress from ANCA’s Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) pilot. The pilot is helping African institutions build capability, improve nature-related reporting, and integrate nature risks into strategic decision-making. During the session, FSD Africa CEO, Mark Napier, emphasised the importance of an ecosystem-wide approach to nature finance and reaffirmed FSD Africa’s commitment to supporting institutions through the ANCA platform.
The day began with a visit by Minister Creagh to an EarthAcre site in the Athi/Kapiti Corridor where she was joined by Andrea Ledward, International Biodiversity and Climate Director at the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and ANCA Head of Secretariat, Dorothy Maseke. The delegation learned how EarthAcre’s technology platform quantifies nature outcomes and channels direct cash payments to individual landowners, supporting both community livelihoods and biodiversity protection. ANCA continues to provide technical and fundraising support to help EarthAcre scale this innovative model.
Held on the sidelines of the United Nations Environment Assembly, these engagements reinforced the critical role of private capital mobilisation in tackling Africa’s nature and biodiversity challenges. They also underscored ANCA’s role as advocates for action to promote nature-positive practices across the African financial sector.
