BwB at UNDP BIOFIN Regional Conference |Kigali, 25 Jun

BwB Managing Director and Head of Sustainable Sovereign Finance, Chris Smith, joined other industry experts and senior government officials from over 55 countries at the UNDP BIOFIN Regional Conference in Kigali to share experience on how nature can be more deeply integrated into the structuring of sovereign financial instruments and the role of partnerships in driving nature-positive innovation.

Key takeaways from the panel included: 

- Nature underpins economic stability – integrating it into finance ensures long-term resilience and accurate risk pricing. 

- Embedding nature more deeply into financial instruments drives innovation, accountability, and unlocks value through transparent, nature-aligned metrics. 

- Effective partnerships are crucial to fully leveraging available capital to create the scale we need to tackle biodiversity-related challenges. 

“Biodiversity loss is accelerating, but the capital needed to address this is lagging far behind,” comments Chris. “Solutions are within reach, but closing the funding gap demands bold innovation and effective public-private partnerships to mobilise capital that truly works for, and not against, nature.” 

BwB extends its gratitude to Gaurav Gupta (UNDP BIOFIN) and Felipe Lesmes Palacio (The Nature Conservancy) for the insightful conversations on the panel and to Christine J. Wanjiku Mwangi, CFA (National Coordinator, UNDP BIOFIN Kenya) for her fantastic moderation. 

How are countries innovating in biodiversity finance in your region? Join the conversation in the comments.