Biodiversity Finance Accelerator Southern Africa (BioFA)
Bankable business models and customised instruments mobilising biodiversity finance to achieve national and international biodiversity objectives, outlined in national policies and strategies, the new global biodiversity framework post-2020, and the SDGs, are lacking in Malawi and Zambia. The project mobilises biodiversity investments and scales biodiversity-friendly entrepreneurship and thus contributes to a sustainable use, conservation and restoration of ecosystems. Based on a comprehensive approach it develops a pipeline of bankable market-based solutions (finance demand side) and designs innovative, tailored biodiversity finance instruments (supply side). It prepares biodiversity-friendly micro, small and medium enterprises to access growth finance to amplify positive biodiversity impacts. It strengthens the capacities of financial and public institutions to deliver biodiversity finance and implements design thinking formats to co-create financial instruments leveraging biodiversity business models.
- Countries
- Malawi, Zambia
- IKI funding
- 693,000.00 €
- Duration
- 09/2021 till 12/2024
- Status
- open
- Implementing organisation
- adelphi research gemeinnützige GmbH
- Implementing Partner
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- Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR)
- Women’s Entrepreneurship Access Centre (WEAC)
- Online
State of implementation/results
- Green Finance Academy (GFA) in May 2022 with 8 participating financial institutions: Raised awareness and knowledge on green finance opportunities of representatives from eight local commercial banks/ micro-financing institutions: AB Bank, ABSA Bank, Atlas Mara, FINCA, NATSAVE, ZANACO, ZCGS and ZICB. The workshop resulted in eight green finance prototypes that focus on different sectors such as clean energy, sustainable packaging and green cities. The prototypes apply different blended financing mechanisms such as credit lines or guarantee schemes.
- BioFA Replicator Program in November 2023 in Zambia and Malawi with 24 and 26 participants respectively: The workshop supported aspiring entrepreneurs in the ideation of their biodiversity-positive businesses and linked them to BioFA Accelerator Alumni.
- BioFA Biodiversity Breakfast in November 2023 in Zambia and Malawi with over 50 participants in each country: The half-day event brought together ecosystem actors with the aspiring entrepreneurs and accelerator participants to exchange on SMEs challenges and provide feedback to new entrepreneurs.
- Slush’d 2023 in Lusaka, Zambia: The BioFA project conducted a side event at the 2023 Slush’D in Lusaka, Zambia – a startup event, organized by the National Technology Business Centre (NTBC) and local partners in cooperation with the Finnish government to connect startups and founders, investors, and other players in the ecosystem. The BioFA side event “Enabling Green Finance for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Zambia” aimed to highlight the vital importance of biodiversity-positive SME-innovations and green finance. The event featured a panel discussion featuring representatives from WWF, BIOFIN, Zanaco, and the BioFA Accelerator participant, Forest Africa Zambia.
- BioFA project website was updated to showcase future and past events: biofa.info/… & biofa.info/… The BioFA Impact Report update will be finalized and published in April 2024: biofa.info/…
- Publications and videos: Co-Creating Green Finance Solution for MSMEs Through the BioFA Practitioner Labs (www.boz.zm/…) and Practitioner Labs Zambia Video (www.youtube.com/…).
Latest Update:
11/2024
Further links
Project relations
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Related Publications
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01/ 2022 | Publication types | Study
Filling the Missing Middle - Innovative financing for small and growing biodiversity enterprises in Zambia Financing Gap
English (PDF, 7 MB)