Africa

South Africa Prudential Authority issues Climate Roadmap 2024-2026

South Africa Prudential Authority issues Guidance on Climate-Related Disclosures for Banks a

Kenya Bankers Association (KBA) published Kenya Sustainable Finance Guiding Principles

TBA in collaboration with WWF Tanzania and BOT launched the Sustainable Finance Principles (SFPs)

The Copperbelt Energy Corporation Plc (CEC) registers the Country's debut Green bond (Green Medium Term Note Programme), the first in the Zambian Capital Market .The US$200 million Green Bond, structured as a programme, whose proceeds will accelerate the actualisation to generate at least 200MW of renewable energy using solar energy with possible storage implementation. The Green Bond was issued under CEC Renewables, investment vehicle established by the CEC Group, through which renewable energy development is actualised.

Government launches the Carbon Market Framework for Zambia. These are Guidelines for the Submission and Evaluation of Mitigation Activities Under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

BOZ publishes the Banking and Financial Services (Green Loans) Guidelines

PA publishes Proposed Guidance Notices on Climate Related Risk Practices and Disclosure for banks and insurers

FSCA publishes Statement on Sustainable Finance and Programme of Work, including a focus on taxonomy implementation and disclosure

The CMSA publishes the Capital Markets and Securities Corporate and Subnational Sustainability Bonds Guidelines

Climate Change Act 2023 ammendments introduce a framework for carbon trading

KBA develops Banks’ Climate-Related Financial Disclosures Reporting Template

Kenya National Treasury publishes Draft National Green Fiscal Incentives Policy Framework

SEC publishes Draft Green Bond Guidelines

The Bankers Association of Zambia joins SBFN

SEC joins SBFN

Presidential Climate Commission publishes report on the South African Climate Finance Landscape

Climate Risk Forum publishes South African Benchmark Climate Risk Scenarios

Tanzania Bankers Association (TBA) joins SBFN

CBK and IFC host Inaugural Africa Climate Business Forum

Securities and Exchange Commission of Ghana joins SBFN

CBN publishes Situational Analysis of Women's Financial Inclusion in Nigeria

BEAC organizes an awareness-raising forum on "Pathways to Sustainable Finance" in partnership with IFC and SBFN, which gathered stakeholders from across the financial sector in the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC). The forum also gathered SBFN members and partners from other African countries, allowing SBFN members to share knowledge and learning from experience. The participants committed to creating a working group with representatives from the various financial sector stakeholders in CEMAC.

The Ministry of Green Economy and Environment initiates the development of the National Green Growth Strategy

JSE publishes Guidance on Climate and Sustainability Disclosure with support from IFC

JSE expands listing instructions to include sustainability-linked finance and transition finance

National Treasury publishes Green Finance Taxonomy for South Africa, 1st Edition

Updated Code for Responsible Investing in South Africa (CRISA 2) published

Bank of Tanzania (BOT) issues the Guidelines on Climate-related Financial Risks Management for Banks and Financial Institutions

The National Treasury and the Kenya Private Sector Alliance publish Kenya Private Sector Strategy on Climate Change Solutions (2022 - 2030)  to mitigate climate risk and promote green growth

Central Bank of Kenya publishes (Digital Credit Providers) Regulations 2022 to promote consumer protection 

KBA publishes Report on Environmental Risk Exposure in the Kenyan Banking Sector

Ghana Stock Exchange publishes ESG Disclosures Guidance Manual

CBN publishes Exposure Draft on the Digital Financial Services Awareness Guidelines to address gaps in consumer knowledge and practices and promote inclusion

SARB publishes A Climate Change Modelling Framework for Financial Stress Testing in Southern Africa

National Treasury, with support from the European Commission, publishes a Comparison Between the EU Green Taxonomy and South Africa’s Green Taxonomy

The National Treasury and the Kenya Private Sector Alliance publish Barrier and Challenges Analysis of Private Sector Investments in Climate Change

COSUMAF and BEAC join SBFN

PA publishes Prudential Communication 10 of 2022: Climate-related risks drawing the sector's attention to climate risks and communicating its approach to climate related risks

BIOFIN Zambia establishes the Green Finance Mainstreaming Working Group, the main vehicle for the mainstreaming of green finance, composed of three financial regulators; SEC, the Bank of Zambia (BOZ) and the Pensions and Insurance Authority (PIA).Membership to the working group has since grown to include the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment and the Zambia Institute of Chartered Accountants among others.

PA publishes Climate Risk Survey Report assessing the state of climate-related disclosures among financial institutions

Climate Risk Forum publishes Sustainable Finance Handbook for South Africa

South Africa Prudential Authority (PA) joins SBFN

CBN approves the solar energy adoption financing facility

JSE announces expanded sustainability segment covering green, social, and sustainability bonds

Climate Risk Forum publishes Principles and Guidance for Minimum Disclosure of Climate Related Risks and Opportunities

National Treasury publishes final Technical Paper on Financing a Sustainable Economy

Dar es Salaam Stock Exchange with the approval of Capital Markets and Securities Authority (CMSA) issues the Public Limited Company Rules which include Guidelines to Sustainability Reporting and Guidelines for Issuance of Sustainable Bonds

National Treasury becomes a formal SBFN member and Co-chair for the SBFN Sustainable Finance Instruments Working Group

National Treasury publishes Draft Green Finance Taxonomy for South Africa

Ministry of Finance publishes Sustainable Financing Framework

SEC publishes Ghana Capital Market Masterplan 2020-2029

The government of Nigeria publishes the Climate Change Act

SEC publishes Guidelines on Sustainable Financial Principles for the Nigerian Capital Market

COSUMAF, in partnership with IFC, issues the Guidelines for the Issuance of Green, Social and Sustainable Bonds in Central Africa

TUHF and Standard Bank launch South Africa’s first social bond listed on the JSE

Netcare and Standard Bank list Africa’s first self-labeled sustainability-linked bond on the JSE

Compliance rate within the first year of implementation considered to be satisfactory

All 23 banks as of end of quarter 1 submitted completed templates

23 banks (100 percent) are required to report their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) activities/ performance regularly to the regulator

CBN hosts a two-day training on sustainable finance for the Nigeria Financial Services Regulation Coordinating Committee member regulators

CBN power interventions, aimed at improving infrastructure and electricity supply, have reached N1.3 trillion to date and include: · N300 billion Power and Aviation Intervention Fund · N213 billion Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility · N140 billion Solar Connection Intervention Facility, including the development of in-country capacity for assembling and manufacturing affordable solar system solutions · N120 billion mass metering facility to address the 6 million metering gap · Hyundai Electric is the first 100% electric car with zero emissions assembled in Nigeria by the Sta

With its Decade of Gas campaign, Nigeria targets gas-powered economy by 2030 to exploit its 600 trillion cubic feet of gas resources and rising global demand for cleaner energy

With the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the e-Naira leveraging technology, Nigeria becomes the first country in Africa to issue digital currency to ease transactions and trading as well as deepen financial inclusion

As of June 2021, total outstanding credits/loans that have gone through environment, social, and governance (ESG) or environment and social (E&S) screening stands at $32.6 billion

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) develops the Green Bond Guidelines

The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) of Kenya issues Policy Guidance Note on Green Bonds for legal framework for issuing listed and unlisted green bonds

Nairobi Securities Exchange publishes the Kenya Green Bond Market Issuer’s Guide

KBA publishes Kenya Green Bond Guidelines Background Document

BoG publishes the Ghana Sustainable Banking Principles and E&S Risk Management Sector-Specific Guidance for five sectors: agriculture and forestry, power and energy, construction and real estate, manufacturing, and oil & gas and mining

CBN launches the Shared Agent Network Expansion Facilities (SANEF)

Nedbank becomes first bank in South Africa to list a renewable energy bond under the JSE Green Segment

National Assembly Finance and Planning Committee introduces to the Finance Bill 2019 a withholding tax exemption on green bonds

Capital Markets Authority approves the modification of NSE Listing Rules to incorporate Green Bonds

Access Bank issues the first corporate Green Bond valued at 15 billion Nigerian naira ($41 million)

Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) publishes Guidance Notice 1 of 2019: Sustainability of investments and assets in the context of a retirement fund’s investment policy statement

BoG convenes the CEO Round Table and presents the Sustainable Banking Principles which were signed off by the all the 23 banks

BoG is a key stakeholder in the implementation of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (2018-2023) with a new target of 85 percent inclusion of eligible Ghanaians by the year 2023

Total green bond issuance to the value of $2.6 billion

Nedbank becomes first bank in South Africa to list a renewable energy bond under the JSE Green Segment

33 banks submit Digital Accessibility for Persons with Disability roadmaps

KBA launches Digital Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities initiative

Green bond issuance to the value of $40 million

KBA Publishes Sustainable Finance Voluntary Report with 22 of 47 banks submitting reports

CBN approves N200 billion mortgage finance facility for the construction of 300,000 social housing units for low-income earners, expecting to create 1.5million jobs

As of 31 December 2020, $136 million worth of green bonds have been issued

FSCA and IFC publish report on the Sustainable Finance Practices in South African Retirement Funds

South African Reserve Bank (SARB) surveys banks and insurance sector on alignment with the Task Force on Climate-related Disclosures (TCFD)

BASA establishes the multistakeholder Climate Risk Forum, chaired by National Treasury, with working groups to implement recommendations of the NT Draft Technical Paper

Kenya National Treasury publishes the Landscape of Climate Finance in Kenya Report, which is the first attempt to track the country’s climate finance flows since the Paris Agreement

KBA publishes the Report on the State of Sustainable Finance in Kenya’s Banking Industry

Capacity-building programs and awareness creation in relation to implementation of the Sustainable Banking Principles Sector Guidance Notes were organized for banks and supervisory staff of Bank of Ghana to facilitate progressive implementation of the Principles amidst the challenges of COVID-19

Private sector collaborates to establish the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID)

Federal Government of Nigeria launches the MSME Survival Fund

Federal Government of Nigeria launches its Economic Sustainability Plan (ESP)

CBN publishes the Framework for Advancing Women’s Financial Inclusion in Nigeria

KBA updates Sustainable Finance Principles and Framework to incorporate CBK Climate Risk Guidelines

CBK issues the Guidance on Climate Related Risk Management Guidelines

CBK and Kenya National Treasury launch National Credit Guarantee Scheme

BoG launches monitoring and reporting requirements related to the Ghana Sustainable Banking Principles for banks

MoE issues Nigeria Green Bond Guidelines and the National Adaptation Plan Framework

Growthpoint issues first corporate green bond under the JSE Green Segment

City of Cape Town lists first green bond under the new JSE Green Segment

National Treasury (NT), GIZ, and Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) publish primer on “Embedding environmental scenario analysis into routine financial decision-making in South Africa"

BoG issues a Corporate Governance Directive

The Federal Government of Nigeria issues the Code of Corporate Governance, highlighting key principles to help institutionalize corporate governance best practices in Nigerian companies. The Code has six key governance pillars with sustainability as a stand-alone pillar

FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange publishes the Nigerian Sustainable Finance Roadmap and lists a Green Bond Financial Product

The SEC publishes Green Bond Issuance Rules and New Rule on Green Bonds

JSE requires any documents (circulars and annual reports) submitted to the JSE on or after 1 October 2017 to demonstrate application and disclosure of King IV

Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) publishes Debt Listings Requirements for the JSE Green Segment

4th edition of the King Report and Code on Corporate Governance (King IV) includes climate change and ESG considerations as well as integrated reporting requirements

KBA publishes first Shared Value Report

BoG creates a Sustainable Banking Principles Steering Committee, which includes the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB)

In 2016, the Financial Services Regulation Coordinating Committee (FSRCC) publishes the Nigerian Sustainable Finance Principles for member agencies and the institutions they regulate/supervise to mobilize sustainable finance flows from the capital markets, pension funds, and the insurance industry

National Treasury hosts first multi-stakeholder roundtable on sustainable finance and becomes SBFN Observer

BASA joins SBFN

KBA launches Sustainable Finance Catalyst Awards

Nairobi Securities Exchange issues Green Bonds Training Material

Kenya National Treasury publishes the National Policy on Climate Finance

BoG and GAB join SBFN

KBA, Nairobi Securities Exchange and partners launch Green Bond Program

The Banking Association South Africa (BASA) launches Principles for Managing Environmental and Social Risk

Batseta (Council of Retirement Funds for South Africa) publishes Responsible Investment and Ownership – A Guide for Pension Funds in South Africa

KBA launches Sustainable Finance e-Learning Platform

KBA issues the Kenya Sustainable Finance Principles and Guidelines

KBA joins SBFN

KBA launches the Sustainable Finance Initiative (SFI) with the support of Kenyan banks to advance the sustainability agenda industry-wide

South African Government publishes updated Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act with new ESG requirements

Institutional investors launch Code for Responsible Investing in South Africa

South African Government publishes Green Economy Accord

In 2014, CBN creates the Reporting Template for the Nigerian Sustainable Banking Principles

CBN issues the Sustainable Banking Principles, Guidance Notes, and Sector Guidelines

CBN joins SBFN