Our monthly funding overview on the continent

From the newsletter

This month’s funding tracker shows a total of $209 million raised for conservation through three main deals. Togo leads with $200 million, followed by Mozambique with $5 million and Liberia–Sierra Leone with $4 million. The $200 million for Togo is the only loan in this group; it aims to enhance biodiversity and climate resilience, while the others are structured as grants.

• The African Development Bank is the lead arranger of the Togo loan. Deutsche Bank serves as a lender and co-arranger, while Legal and General becomes the first non-bank lender involved, benefiting from the African Development Fund’s guarantee to support conservation efforts in Togo.

• Additional funding highlighted this month includes $4 million for the Gola Resilience, Empowerment, Access and Peacebuilding project in Liberia and Sierra Leone, as well as $5 million from the Peace Parks Foundation for conservation and community support in Mozambique’s Banhine National Park.

More details

• The $200 million loan will finance climate adaptation, biodiversity preservation, pollution control, clean energy access, and environmental resilience over a 20-year period. Deutsche Bank co-arranged the transaction and provided financial structuring. This marks Togo’s first implementation of a Guarantor-of-Record model, with the African Development Fund sharing a portion of the guarantee risk with credit insurers.

• This agreement is part of the African Development Fund’s strategy to enhance market access for low-income countries and coincides with the final phase of the Fund’s seventeenth replenishment process. The partial guarantee aims to attract institutional investment into conservation and climate-focused projects. The Bank views it as a pilot initiative for scaling sustainable debt in West Africa.

• Peace Parks Foundation has invested $5 million over three years in Mozambique’s Banhine National Park to support wildlife conservation and community livelihoods. The project includes cattle and goat breeding, seed distribution, and accommodation upgrades to promote tourism. Located in Gaza Province, the park features seasonal wetlands that attract migratory birds. Community involvement is central, with planned activities aimed at linking conservation to local economic benefits.

• Liberia and Sierra Leone, with support from the United Nations, have launched the $4 million GOLA-REAP project to conserve the transboundary Gola Rainforest and promote peace in border communities. Funded by the UN Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund, the initiative targets 700 square kilometres of biodiversity-rich forest, home to over 300 bird species and endangered primates, including pygmy hippos, chimpanzees, and forest elephants.

• The project focuses on land access, conflict prevention, and forest management. It will train local leaders, rangers, and border officials in community-driven land mapping and border monitoring. Youth and women will be empowered to address natural resource-related conflicts. The project aims to build resilience, enhance sustainable resource use, and strengthen social cohesion across the Liberia–Sierra Leone border.

Our take

• Grant funding for conservation is essential, but it often lacks the scale and sustainability needed for long-term success. These funds are typically short-term and influenced by donor priorities, making it difficult to sustain long-term environmental projects.

• In contrast, structured finance, such as debt deals backed by guarantees, can mobilise larger and more stable capital flows. For example, Togo’s $200 million loan, arranged by the African Development Bank, utilises a partial credit guarantee to reduce risk for private lenders like Deutsche Bank and Legal and General.

• This model not only attracts institutional investment into conservation but also aligns with national development goals. It provides a scalable approach that other African countries could adopt.