Meet Africa’s New Nature Champions as African Natural Capital Alliance reveals the 22 inspirational leaders selected to take part in its Executive Fellowship Programme on nature and biodiversity finance
Candidates from Access Bank, The Kilimanjaro Project, Meridiam and Enyuatta EcoJustice Centre will join the African Natural Capital Alliance at an official press conference.
13th January 2025 – Join the African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA) as it announces the successful candidates for its first Executive Fellowship Programme – a groundbreaking new initiative to boost the financing of sustainable natural capital management in Africa and empower senior managers and executives to become catalysts for change
The 22, chosen following a rigorous selection process, are drawn from a wide range of different backgrounds and include investment bankers, asset managers, an environmental lawyer and a social entrepreneur, all united by a passion for nature.
The aim of the fellowship, launched last August in partnership with Oxford University and the African Leadership University School of Wildlife Conservation (ALU SOWC), is to create a cadre of leaders in the nature and biodiversity finance space and at the same time create a pipeline of projects which will deliver increased biodiversity as well as community benefits such as new jobs, improved livelihoods and increased resilience. Each of the fellows brings with them a nature-based project they will be given assistance with during the one-year programme.
The launch resulted in a large number of applications and the 22 selected represent a wide range of different organisations from commercial banks, insurers and asset managers to NGOs including Rand Merchant Bank, Blackrock, KCB Bank Kenya, IUCN, Lusaka Securities Exchange Plc, ICEA Lion and Development Bank of Namibia (full list below). The projects they will be working on range from a community carbon project that that connects smallholder farmers to the global carbon markets, and Africa’s first ocean fund for indigenous people to a large-scale nature-based innovative agriculture project.
This is an important milestone in the project, which is funded by the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), and in ANCA’s mission to catalyse nature-positive African economies.
The four fellows that will be attending and available to speak with during the Q&A are:
- Sarah Scott, Founder and Executive Director, The Kilimanjaro Project, Co-founder, The Art of Forests (a global alliance of restoration experts). Based in Tanzania, Sarah is a passionate environmentalist, regenerator, and storyteller whose activism started in her 30s when she became part of efforts to clean up a beach in Dar es Salaam, nicknamed Beach Mavi (“shit” beach) due to the amount of waste. The Kilimanjaro Project aims to scale and accelerate biodiversity and ecosystem restoration, in partnership with local communities and smallholder farmers, through investments that provide positive financial, social and nature outcomes. Its flagship project is a community carbon project that connects smallholder farmers to the global carbon markets.
- Gbenga Adeleke, Head of Risk Management, Access Bank. Based in Nigeria, Gbenga leads the development and execution of strategies in biodiversity conservation, and natural capital opportunities. Gbenga has championed groundbreaking initiatives, including spearheading the issuance of Africa’s first corporate green bond certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative (UK). He wants to set-up, and promote a large-scale nature-based innovative agriculture project driven by natural capital conservation, ecosystems restoration, nature-based vulnerabilities reduction, and climate resilience.
- Melat Mengesha Hailemelekot, Senior Investment Director, Meridiam (a B-Corp global investor and asset manager specializing in sustainable infrastructure). Based in Gabon, Melat first developed a passion for nature during her childhood in Ethiopia on family trips to the outskirts of the city, hiking and swimming in rivers. Her project is to help develop a nature capital fund for Meridiam.
Brenda Reson Sapuro, a distinguished environmental lawyer and Founder / CEO, Enyuatta EcoJustice Centre, Kenya. Brenda’s interest in nature is deeply rooted in her experiences growing up in the Maasai community in Kenya. Her project aims to empower marginalized communities in Kenya, particularly women and children, through sustainable land management practices that enhance biodiversity and promote climate resilience