NABA, in collaboration with the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Sustainable Trade team, is excited to host a webinar on the crucial topic of Climate Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa, and how the continent’s economies can effectively catalyze more capital aligned with climate goals, decarbonization, and green growth.
It is estimated that a successful global transition to a low-carbon economy will require between $4tr - $6tr annually, with developing economies needing around $6tr a year to meet their 2030 climate targets.
Financing levels in Africa - which could need up to $2.8tr by 2030 - are falling short. According to the State and Trends in Adaptation Report 2022, $11.4bn was committed to climate adaptation finance on the continent in 2019 and 2020, well below an estimated need of $52.7bn annually to 2030. Of this, just 3% came from the private sector.
Scaling up climate finance and investment is essential if Africa is to meet its climate challenge, spur growth and competitiveness amid the green transition, and to drive sustainable economic development.
The webinar will discuss how African economies can effectively catalyse more climate investment, including a presentation from the World Economic Forum’s Sustainable Trade team, focused on their new Guidebook on Facilitating Climate FDI. This provides step-by-step guidance and best practices to help investment authorities work with the private sector on facilitating climate foreign direct Investment.
Speakers:
Ms. Kimberley Botwright
Head, Sustainable Trade, World Economic Forum
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Ms. Kimberley Botwright is the Head of Sustainable Trade at the World Economic Forum, where she focuses on supply chain sustainability, the linkages between climate change, trade and investment, and reverse supply chains for the circular economy.
Previously, she has worked at the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD,) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Ms. Nangula Shejavali
Manager, Policy Reform and Business Climate, Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB)
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Nangula Shejavali is the Manager for Policy Reform and Partnerships at Namibia's Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB), where she works to impact policies in a way that will spur economic growth in Namibia, and unlock opportunities to enable a better quality of life for all Namibians.
As Namibia's IPA, the NIPDB facilitates trust relationships to attract and retain sustainable investment for private sector-led and inclusive economic growth. As part of its statutory mandate, the Board also aims to improve Namibia’s competitiveness score, develop the required skills for sustainable investments that lead to job creation, and create an enabling ecosystem for MSME’s to thrive and scale.
Prior to joining the NIPDB, Nangula worked as a development communications, marketing, media, public policy and research consultant.
Mr. Saliem Fakir
Executive Director, African Climate Foundation
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Prior to establishing the African Climate Foundation, Saliem served for 11 years as the Head of the Policy & Futures Unit of World Wildlife Fund South Africa. He was a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Public Administration and Planning and an Associate Director for the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy at Stellenbosch University. For eight years, Saliem was the Director of the World Conservation Union, South Africa. He has served on several Boards and is a prolific writer, contributing to leading publications.
Mr. Lanre Akinola
Head of Content, NABA
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Lanre Akinola is Head of Content at NABA. He is the former editor of This Is Africa, a Financial Times publication, and African Business Magazine. He has worked with the Bloomberg Media Initiative Africa, and is a 2014 Desmond Tutu Leadership Fellow.