The African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA) has unveiled its inaugural Governing Council, bringing together the chief executives of three of the continent’s largest financial institutions alongside leading figures in conservation and climate science, as the coalition reaches 130 members with combined assets exceeding £1tn.
The new council includes Jason Quinn of Nedbank, James Mwangi of Equity Bank, and Arthur Oginga of Old Mutual Holdings, alongside Eliane Ubalijoro, chief executive of the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry; Dr David Obura, chair of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services; and Kaddu Sebunya, chief executive of the African Wildlife Foundation. Their appointment signals the alliance’s ambition to drive real investment into nature-positive economies across Africa, moving beyond advocacy to concrete financial commitments.
ANCA, established in 2022 by FSD Africa, will officially unveil the council at its summit in Cape Town from October 7 to 9, themed “Unlocking Africa’s Natural Capital: Catalysing Investment for a Resilient and Equitable Future”. The summit programme includes strategies for scaling nature finance, public-private partnerships, and new investment pipelines in agri-tech, blue economy ventures, forest-based solutions, and waste-to-value innovation.
The alliance will also present details of a new Bioeconomy Finance Hub, co-ideated with the steering committee of the G20 Initiative on Bioeconomy under South Africa’s G20 presidency. The hub is designed as an independent pan-African platform to help mobilise capital for bioeconomy investments and extract value from the continent’s natural capital. For the full press release, see here.