The urgency of rethinking development models that prioritise short-term economic gains over environmental health and fast-tracking Africa’s access to climate finance were strong themes on the first day of Africa’s Green Economy Summit in Cape Town on Wednesday.
Once again, straight talk and animated discussions were the name of the game.
In the opening session, Maxwell Gomera, Resident Representative of UNDP South Africa and Director of the Africa Sustainable Finance Hub delivered a heartfelt plea with poignant examples of the need to address inequality in the economic transition “because an economy that only works for the few is not an economy.” Read more.
“How did we get here? How did we get so disconnected from our environment?” Iain Banner, Go Green Africa chairman asked, emphasising the need for a “reset.” He reminded the audience that 65% of the world’s remaining arable land is in Africa.
Abel Sakhau, Chief Sustainability Officer of the Sanlam Group mentioned the underdevelopment of many African countries that border the oceans, as the focus has mainly been on tourism while there is so much more potential.
“Africa presents unprecedented opportunities. It is not all doom and gloom,” said Anthony Nyong, Director Climate Change and Green Growth Department at the African Development Bank. He reiterated the need for climate finance and investment to be enhanced, stating: “Africa receives less than 4% of global climate finance. We want to move Africa to a double digit recipient.”
Barbara Buchner, Global Managing Director of the Climate Policy Initiative noted that current climate finance covered less than a quarter of what is needed on the continent due to high perceived risk and a lack of bankable projects, adding that only 18% of the money comes from the private sector.
Harsen Nyambe, Director of the African Union’s Sustainable Environment and Blue Economy Directorate reminded the audience of various programmes that were available to fight climate change, for example in the energy sector, such as the Mission 300 which is aimed at providing electricity access to 300 million people across Africa by 2030, as well as in the clean cooking and water sectors.
However, he said that while “solutions are within reach, I do not think that we are brave enough to tap into those solutions, and there is a tendency on this continent to talk a lot and do very little, I’m sorry to say that, but that is the reality. So, if we want to indeed make a difference it means that we need to walk the talk.”
Africa needs to think about what needs to happen to make the continent more investor-friendly, according Kevin Anderson, Climate Fund Managers’ Head of Strategic Initiatives said in a fireside chat with Hubert Danso, Chairman & CEO of Africa Investor (Ai) Group, discussing enabling innovation, collaboration and capital to drive Africa’s transition. “These are hard truths in the investor community,” Kevin said, emphasising the “huge potential” of blended finance. “We need to move away from the idea of development to private capital mobilisation. The private sector needs to take a seat at the table and blended finance has done that.”
Just before breaking for lunch, South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Electricity and Energy Samantha Jane Graham-Maré said about the proposed SAREM (South African Renewable Energy Masterplan) that “we are hoping the government will be more responsive and collaborative with the private sector.”
The deputy minister also stated the continent at large would benefit greatly from carbon markets. As South Africa is the only African member country of the G20, “a Team Africa approach” should be used to give 600-million people in Africa access to electricity.
A session that joined representatives from a bank, insurance company, investment company and a global nature-focused non-profit discussed how investments in nature and biodiversity yield financial returns, not just environmental and social impacts. Erik Wandrag, the CEO of the Oceans Finance Company explained the $1 billion collaborative climate project that he led and implemented, particularly using “debt for nature” swaps.
In the last panel discussion on Wednesday focusing on what is next in climate finance, former World Bank sustainability guru Dr John Roome challenged the panel members on what he had heard so far: “I have very mixed feelings. Will this radically change getting private sector into climate finance? Is this the best we can do?” He asked the panel to name the one thing that they think might make the difference. The panel agreed that the lack of big data in the African climate space was a major gap.
“Very little is invested in data, and countries are unable to account for what they have,” said Shingirirai Savious Mutanga, CSIR research group leader, adding: “for me the answer is data. Then we will have the evidence that we need and won’t struggle to build a pipeline.”
Bianca Gichangi, Regional Lead – Africa at Voluntary Carbon Market Integrity Initiative (VCMI) concurred: “Big data has enabled us to make great strides. We need to prioritise it in the $1.3 trillion that is needed.”
After months of preparation, we welcomed incredible projects to both of our stages, where they collectively pitched an impressive $7.2 billion.
Our lineup featured groundbreaking initiatives in innovative energy solutions, alternative fuels, waste management, carbon-related technologies, green transportation at both local and regional levels, and sustainable building practices.
We were inspired by the founders who shared their visions and engaged with investors and potential commercial partners.
Additionally, our matchmaking platform demonstrated the strong interest between these two communities, facilitating 600 confirmed meetings on Day 1 between investors and investment projects.
“Did you bring any samples?” was one of the first questions an interested (and thirsty) audience member directed at Dr Graham McCulloch, of Okavango Craft Brewery in Maun, Botswana, during his project pitch on Wednesday. It is a unique venture that turns millet from “elephant aware” farmers and mineral water from the Okavango Delta into quality craft beer.
The first day of AGES 2025 wrapped up with a lovely networking session and wine tasting, sponsored by Lesedi.
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