Portfolio Partner Profile
eco.business sub-fund for Sub-Saharan Africa
The eco.business sub-fund for Sub-Saharan Africa (EBF SSA) was launched in 2019 as a branch of the broader eco.business Fund to support business activities that contribute to biodiversity conservation, the sustainable use of natural resources, and climate change mitigation and adaptation in the Sub-Saharan region of Africa. The Fund seeks investments that yield both financial and environmental returns. EBF SSA’s financing can be provided directly to agricultural companies or through local financial institutions.
Sub-Saharan Africa is rich with biodiversity, but is especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change. To mitigate the negative impacts of climate change, EBF SSA focuses on supporting businesses that promote sustainable practices in four target sectors including sustainable agriculture and agri-processing, sustainable fishery, aquaculture, and sustainable tourism. EBF SSA also offers tailored technical assistance to accompany investment activities the Fund provides to promote behavioral change in financial institutions’ lending practices.
Calvert Impact has a strong long-standing relationship with Finance in Motion, the Germany-based advisor to the eco.business Fund SSA, since 2017 and is currently invested in the eco.business sub-fund for Latin American and the Caribbean and the SANAD Fund for MSME.
Featured Impact Story
Impact Story
Raising Awareness on Sustainable Farming Practices in Sub-Saharan Africa
To amplify the impact and showcase how environmental risks can be managed and mitigated, the eco.business Development Facility for Sub-Saharan Africa sponsored three episodes in the 11th series of the Shamba Shape Up show, East Africa’s longest-running agricultural television series airing in Kenya. Shamba Shape Up raises awareness around sustainable farming, nutrition, and water management practices by promoting positive attitudes towards the adoption of sustainable agronomic methods. Each episode explains the importance of these practices and gave viewers examples of how to do it themselves.
Sponsored episodes also cover how to create buffer zones near rivers and forests and sustainable commercial tree management, as well as how to harvest rainwater (runoff) using waterpans and explained why practicing mixed farming is critical in improving plant nutrition.
Going forward, the eco.business Fund plans to partner with financial institutions to help them become more aware of environmental and social risks and integrate those risks into their internal credit and risk management processes, with the goal to catalyze the growth of green businesses across sub-Saharan Africa.
Impact Story
Equipping Family Bank for a Sustainable Future
The eco.business Fund Development Facility for Sub-Saharan Africa partnered with Family Bank Kenya to offer specialized agri-finance, environmental, and social training for banking staff. The trainings helped the bank to overcome capacity gaps and addressed misconceptions about agriculture loans. The Development Facility also helped build an Environmental and Social Management System to incorporate ESG awarenesss into the bank’s lending practices.
Around 100 employees across different departments, a quarter of whom are women, participated in the initial rollout of the trainings across the Embu, Nakuru, Nairobi, Kericho, and Mombasa regions. The trainings covered the importance of the agricultural finance value chain, risk management, and climate-smart agriculture.
Environmental Sustainability
Sustainable Agriculture
