Africa Capital Hub

Bringing together BwB's Africa expertise to mobilise high-impact environmental and social investment across Africa.

What is the Africa Capital Hub?

The Africa Capital Hub (ACH) is a BwB initiative with a mission to mobilise private, public, and philanthropic capital at scale to support the implementation of transformational environmental and social projects across Africa.

The ACH serves as BwB's platform for its work on the continent, uniting the firm's in-house and wider network of expertise across all areas of our activity and impact. It provides innovative financial structuring solutions, results-led technical assistance, and investor engagement designed to accelerate capital flows into high-impact initiatives that benefit people and ecosystems across the continent.

Why the ACH is Needed

Africa faces a complex set of urgent development challenges. Biodiversity loss, climate change, and environmental degradation are intensifying at the same time as nations across the continent strive to accelerate economic growth and meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These pressures converge in a context where domestic financial resources remain constrained and the gap between investment need and available capital is substantial – estimated at approximately US$194 billion annually for the SDGs alone.

Scale and Fragmentation

Sustainable finance initiatives across Africa are often small, fragmented, and slow to mobilise. The speed and scale of capital deployment are not yet fit for purpose – limiting the ability to fund critical development projects and replicate successful financing models across the continent.

Misalignment of Capital and Need

Divergent private and public interests, and a failure to effectively leverage public investment to crowd in private capital, mean that Africa's considerable domestic and international wealth is not being effectively channelled toward government-led development priorities.

Capacity Constraints

There is a critical shortage of deal structuring and execution capacity within governments and the broader support ecosystem – resulting in a lack of investment-ready projects at the scale required to attract and sustain institutional capital.

How the ACH Operates

The ACH provides catalytic support that spans the full investment lifecycle, from project preparation through to advice on deal structuring and helping to connect projects with appropriate capital providers.

Full-Spectrum Coverage

From sovereign finance and nature & biodiversity to energy, food & agriculture, and education, the ACH brings together BwB's complete range of sector and product expertise – providing a coordinated and connected platform for its activity across Africa.

Neutral

The ACH is capital-neutral and non-competitive. It does not hold its own balance sheet. Instead, it captures and analyses data, assesses risk, measures project bankability, and facilitates public-private alliances to mobilise blended investments that drive high-impact activity at scale.

Pan-African Aligned

The ACH focuses on Africa-led partnerships and pan-continental initiatives – supporting governments in their efforts to achieve sustainability commitments and working to harmonise the investment landscape so that successful financing models can be scaled and replicated across the continent.

ACH Coverage

Sectors

Sovereign FinanceUrban Transition and Resilient InfrastructureBuilt EnvironmentNature & BiodiversitySecurity & ResilienceEnergyFood & AgricultureBlue EconomyEducationCircular Economy & WasteGender, Diversity & InclusionMobilityCarbon & Forestry

Products

Bond Markets AdvisoryFund Advisory

Governance and Advisory

The ACH is supported by an Advisory Board whose counsel and networks have been instrumental in building the Hub's credibility and guiding its strategic direction. The Advisory Board remains central to how the ACH is steered – bringing senior expertise and established relationships that strengthen both the Hub's work and its standing with partners across the continent.

Beyond the Advisory Board, the ACH draws on the wider BwB network – including its Global Expert Group, Ambassadors, and Impact Investor Group – bringing national, regional, and international experience and expertise in environmental and social policy, sustainability, and investing for impact across the full investment lifecycle. Together, they provide the credibility, connectivity, and specialist knowledge needed to support transformational projects across Africa.

Who the ACH Works With

Governments and Public Entities

Supporting national and subnational governments in structuring bankable development projects and attracting domestic and international capital.

Private Investors and Financial Institutions

Connecting investors with a growing pipeline of financially viable environmental and social projects across a range of size, return, sector, and geographic profiles.

Philanthropic Capital Providers

Facilitating the deployment of catalytic philanthropic capital in ways that crowd in additional public and private investment.

Development Finance Institutions and Multilateral Partners

Coordinating with pan-African and international programmes to align capital and maximise development impact.

Sources: