Banking
Ecobank Floats $450m Nature Bond for Sustainable Agric Businesses, Others
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The world’s first ICMA commercial bank-issued Nature Bond has been launched by Ecobank Group to mobilise global capital for the protection of Africa’s natural ecosystems.
The debt instrument, up to $450 million, will be tradable on the London Stock Exchange (LSE), creating a new route for international and African capital to protect Africa’s biodiversity.
The bond will support African farmers, sustainable agriculture businesses and water systems, protecting some of the planet’s most important ecosystems.
Africa is home to some of the world’s most important natural capital, including arable land, tropical forests, freshwater systems and biodiversity across hundreds of millions of hectares. But, until now, private nature capital has not flowed to Africa at the scale the continent’s ecological significance warrants in global ecological resilience. Despite hosting 25 per cent of global biodiversity, Africa receives less than 3 per cent of nature finance.
Ecobank’s Nature Bond is a direct response to this gap. It will support smallholder farmers adopting sustainable agricultural practices, agri-processors with verified deforestation-free supply chains, and water infrastructure protecting freshwater ecosystems relied upon by millions of people.
Unlike many conservation-focused financing vehicles, Ecobank’s Nature Bond channels capital directly through Africa’s real economy — financing businesses and communities whose day-to-day activities shape environmental outcomes at scale.
The investments will be made in 24 markets, with significant deployment in biodiversity-priority countries such as Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Ghana. Importantly, 81 per cent of the eligible lending pool is allocated to countries where agricultural land-use change is the primary driver of biodiversity loss, helping direct capital to the areas where it can have the greatest environmental impact.
The framework also incorporates independent monitoring and verification mechanisms, including deforestation screening and supply chain traceability requirements, helping ensure that financed activities deliver measurable nature-positive outcomes. Every eligible loan carries seven independently verified sustainability conditions.
A Nature Bond, under the ICMA secondary designation, requires proceeds to actively contribute to nature-positive outcomes, including transforming economic activities to reduce the drivers of nature loss at scale.
The Nature Bond was designed to reach those that conservation-focused instruments were not designed to serve – farmers, agri-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 focuses the use of proceeds specifically on nature-related outcomes, including biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, land use and water infrastructure.
“This transaction is a defining moment for African sustainable finance. Investors did not just support this bond. They demanded more of it, allowing us to increase the size and tighten pricing.
“We are not a bank that simply labels bonds. We have spent four years building the systems, governance and accountability needed to make nature finance credible and scalable in Africa.
“This bond is ultimately about the farmers, cooperatives and communities whose livelihoods depend on healthy ecosystems,” the chief executive of Ecobank Group, Mr Jeremy Awori, stated.
On her part, the Head of Sustainability and ESRM at Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Ms Rachael Antwi, said, “Nature finance will only scale in Africa if it is practical, measurable and connected to the real economy. This bond is designed to do that by linking international capital to eligible lending for sustainable agriculture and water infrastructure across 24 countries. It reflects the systems and standards Ecobank has built to ensure nature finance supports both environmental resilience and the communities whose livelihoods depend on healthy ecosystems.”
Business Post gathered that the $450 million bond was priced following strong investor demand, with the final orderbook exceeding $1.36 billion, almost 400 per cent of the original target size. The strength of demand enabled Ecobank to increase the transaction by $100 million and tighten pricing by 50 basis points.
The transaction attracted support from both international and African investors, demonstrating Ecobank’s unique ability to mobilise capital across global and African markets.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
A collaboration to enable fast money transfers into Nigeria has been entered into between Flutterwave and Xoom, PayPal’s international digital money transfer service.
The partnership allows Xoom transfers to be converted by Flutterwave and settled locally in Naira, enabling quick transfers directly into recipients’ bank accounts at Access Bank, UBA, Zenith Bank, First Bank, GTBank, and additional participating banks across Nigeria.
The deal also enables Xoom’s global network with Flutterwave’s local payout infrastructure, allowing users globally to send funds directly into Nigerian bank accounts with improved speed and efficiency.
Nigeria is the leading remittance recipient in Sub-Saharan Africa, receiving over $20 billion in personal remittances in 2024. Despite this volume, receiving international payments has historically remained complex due to FX constraints and settlement delays. This collaboration helps address those challenges in a market of more than 232 million people, where the ICT sector is projected to contribute 21 per cent of GDP by 2027.
By combining Xoom’s expansive reach with Flutterwave’s local compliance and banking partnerships, the two companies are providing a more accessible financial corridor for the continent.
Xoom, a PayPal service, is a fast and secure international digital money transfer service that enables consumers to send money, pay bills, and reload phones for friends and family in approximately 160 markets globally.
As part of PayPal’s global payments ecosystem, Xoom leverages advanced fraud protection, compliance capabilities, and a trusted global network to help millions of customers move money quickly and securely across borders.
“We’re excited to have been chosen by Xoom for their Nigeria expansion. Millions of Nigerians rely on money from abroad to support everyday needs, whether it’s families receiving help from loved ones, freelancers getting paid for their work, or individuals earning income from the global economy. This helps make it easy and more reliable for people in Nigeria to receive funds and stay connected to opportunities beyond borders,” the chief executive of Flutterwave, Mr Olugbenga GB Agboola, stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
An initiative known as Nigeria Lightning Rounds, designed to expand funding opportunities for Nigerian startups and small businesses by connecting founders with local and international investors, has been launched by ProvidusUnity Bank, in partnership with US-based global venture firm and accelerator, gener8tor.
Scheduled to be held on July 15, 2026, Nigeria Lightning Rounds will feature carefully selected startups engaging with targeted investors who have expressed interest in supporting Nigerian innovation.
Participating founders will have the opportunity to pitch their businesses through focused 15-minute virtual sessions facilitated by gener8tor and ProvidusUnity Bank’s networks.
The program will focus on high-growth sectors including fintech, healthtech, manufacturing, sustainability, and AI, but welcomes SMEs from all industries, with intending participants urged to apply via https://www.gener8tor.com/lightning-rounds/nigeria.
“We recognise that access to capital remains one of the biggest challenges facing entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Through our partnership with gener8tor, we are creating a platform that connects promising Nigerian founders with investors who can provide the support required to scale their businesses,” the Head of Business Development at ProvidusUnity Bank, Mr Ernest Elue, stated.
“The partnership reinforces ProvidusUnity Bank’s commitment to strengthening Nigeria’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by supporting innovation, enabling access to opportunities, and creating pathways for businesses with high-growth potential,” he added.
Also commenting, the Director of Lightning Rounds at gener8tor, Ms Elizabeth Larios, said, “gener8tor is thrilled to partner with ProvidusUnity Bank to extend the Lightning Rounds model into Nigeria.
“This collaboration reflects our commitment to building equitable ecosystems and driving capital to the most promising and underrepresented entrepreneurs.”
Lightning Rounds are a signature initiative of gener8tor’s investment platform, which has facilitated thousands of investor-startup meetings globally. The format is optimised to eliminate friction, reduce bias in early-stage fundraising, and help founders secure capital from investors aligned with their mission and stage. gener8tor’s previous Lightning Rounds for Nigerian Founders in 2025 featured 18 participating Investors and led to 50 investment meetings facilitated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The verification of the depositors of the 46 microfinance banks, whose operating licenses were revoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over a week ago, has commenced.
The exercise, aimed at refunding those whose funds were trapped in the small lenders, is being conducted by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC).
In a statement on Thursday, the agency said its staff members have been positioned at the offices of the affected banks across the country to attend to depositors.
It was disclosed that depositors of the defunct banks, who had their Bank Verification Numbers (BVNs) linked to their accounts in the failed banks, will be paid through their alternative accounts in existing banks.
However, depositors whose BVNs were not linked to their accounts in the failed banks have been encouraged to visit the affected banks’ offices with proof of account ownership, a passport photograph, verifiable means of identification (Driver’s Licence, Permanent Voter’s Card, International Passport or National ID Card) and BVN.
NDIC also stated that depositors can alternatively file their claims online through its website: www.ndic.gov.ng, to complete the Pre-Verification Claims Form by clicking on the Search Bar, and typing Pre-Verification Claims Form; opening the Form and filling in their details. They can also do so by clicking the link: https://ndic.gov.ng/ndic-pre-verification-claims-form/ or by visiting any of the NDIC offices closest to them to file their claims.
For further enquiries, the corporation can be reached on any of the following lines: 09037273810, 09038197064, 08104220807, 09064657140.
