Ecobank Group has launched, on the London Stock Exchange, the world’s first Nature Bond issued by a commercial bank, in line with ICMA principles, creating a new pathway to direct international and African capital toward the protection of African biodiversity.

Rating agency Moody’s assigned the transaction its highest sustainability quality score, SQS1 Excellent. The bond will support African farmers, sustainable agriculture businesses, and water systems, helping to protect some of the planet’s most critical ecosystems.

Tangible Impact Across Africa

Africa holds some of the world’s most significant natural capital — including arable land, tropical forests, freshwater systems, and biodiversity spanning hundreds of millions of hectares. Yet private capital dedicated to nature has not flowed to Africa in proportion to the continent’s ecological importance for global resilience. Despite hosting 25% of the world’s biodiversity, Africa receives less than 3% of nature-focused financing.

Ecobank’s Nature Bond is a direct response to this gap. It will support smallholder farmers adopting sustainable agricultural practices, agri-processing companies with verified deforestation-free supply chains, and water infrastructure protecting the freshwater ecosystems on which millions of people depend. Unlike many conservation-focused financing instruments, the Ecobank Nature Bond channels capital directly into Africa’s real economy — financing businesses and communities whose daily activities shape environmental outcomes at scale.

Investments will be deployed across 24 markets, with significant allocation in biodiversity-priority countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Ghana. Notably, 81% of the eligible loan portfolio is allocated to countries where agricultural land-use change is the primary driver of biodiversity loss, directing capital where it can have the greatest environmental impact.

The framework also incorporates independent monitoring and verification mechanisms — including deforestation checks and supply chain traceability requirements — to ensure financed activities deliver measurable, positive outcomes for nature. Each eligible loan is subject to seven independently verified sustainability conditions.

The bond launch also comes at a time when governments and investors worldwide face growing pressure to mobilise private capital for biodiversity protection and sustainable land use.

What Is a Nature Bond?

A Nature Bond, under the ICMA secondary designation, requires that proceeds actively contribute to positive outcomes for nature — including transforming economic activities to reduce the drivers of nature degradation at scale.

The Nature Bond was designed to reach those that conservation-focused instruments were not built to serve: farmers, agricultural processors, and water operators whose daily activities collectively determine ecosystem outcomes.

While green bonds typically finance a broad range of environmental objectives, the Nature Bond designation concentrates the use of proceeds specifically on nature-related outcomes, including biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, land use, and water infrastructure.

The Transaction

The $450 million bond was priced following strong investor demand, with the final order book exceeding $1.36 billion — 3.9 times the initial target. The strength of demand allowed Ecobank to upsize the transaction by $100 million and tighten pricing by 50 basis points.

The transaction drew support from both international and African investors, demonstrating Ecobank’s unique ability to mobilise capital across global and African markets alike.

For the first time, international and African capital markets have a credible, scalable mechanism to finance the protection of Africa’s natural capital through the communities that depend on it.

Jeremy Awori, Group CEO, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, said:

“This transaction marks a defining moment for sustainable finance in Africa. Investors did not simply support this bond — they demanded more of it, allowing us to upsize and tighten pricing. We are not a bank that puts labels on bonds. We spent four years building the systems, governance, and accountability mechanisms needed to make nature finance credible and scalable in Africa. Ultimately, this bond is about the farmers, cooperatives, and communities whose livelihoods depend on healthy ecosystems.”

Rachael Antwi, Group Head of Sustainability, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, added:

“Nature finance will only scale in Africa if it is concrete, measurable, and connected to the real economy. This bond was designed with that in mind — linking international capital to eligible loans for sustainable agriculture and water infrastructure across 24 countries. It reflects the systems and standards Ecobank has put in place to ensure nature finance supports both environmental resilience and the communities whose livelihoods depend on healthy ecosystems.”