About CAPE | Investment for Africa’s Nature-Based Projects

THE CHALLENGE

Addressing Africa’s Biodiversity and Carbon Financing Gap

Using carbon finance as a catalyst to unlock long-term investment in Africa’s landscapes, ecosystems and communities.

Africa’s natural capital underpins livelihoods, economic growth and resilience, with 62% of the continent’s GDP highly or moderately dependent on nature. Yet these critical assets are being depleted at unsustainable rates, with losses estimated at US$195 billion annually.

At the same time, investment in nature-based carbon and biodiversity projects remains far below what is needed. Despite growing demand for high-quality climate and nature solutions, many promising projects struggle to attract capital. High development costs, limited access to project preparation funding, complex transaction processes and investor risk perceptions often prevent otherwise viable projects from reaching financial close.

The result is a significant financing gap that leaves high-impact opportunities for climate action, biodiversity conservation and sustainable development unrealised.

OUR SOLUTION

A New Approach to Nature-Based Financing

CAPE was established to bridge the gap between project potential and investment readiness. The programme focuses on technically viable, high-impact nature-based projects that have the potential to attract investment but require support to become transaction-ready. Through a combination of project development funding and hands-on transaction advisory services, CAPE helps projects overcome key barriers to investment and progress towards financial close. Beyond supporting individual projects, CAPE is creating investable demonstration cases that can help shape and strengthen the wider market. Through a growing body of practical lessons, tools and open-source best practices, the programme is building a “living lab” to accelerate the replication and scaling of high-integrity nature investments across Africa.

Unlocking investment in integrated landscapes

CAPE focuses on integrated landscape-scale projects where carbon revenues provide a core component of the investment case and an important pathway to mobilising early investment.While carbon often serves as the initial financing mechanism, these projects generate far broader outcomes. They support biodiversity conservation, sustainable food systems, resilient livelihoods, ecosystem restoration and climate adaptation, while creating opportunities for additional commercial and ecosystem service revenues over time.rBy demonstrating how carbon-led financing pathways can unlock investment into large-scale nature-positive landscapes, CAPE is helping build the foundation for more diversified and resilient nature finance models. In doing so, the programme seeks to show how investment in nature can deliver lasting environmental, social and economic value at scale.

How CAPE
works

By fostering high-quality projects, CAPE seeks to strengthen confidence in African nature-based carbon markets, paving the way for sustainable investment flows.

Initial Assessment

Eligible projects undergo a comprehensive needs assessment and co-create a tailored support plan.

Development & Advisory Support

Projects receive recoverable grant funding for project development and transaction advisory services.

Investment Readiness

With CAPE’s support, projects advance towards financial close, equipped with the resources needed to attract investors.

How It Works

Tailored Support on the Journey to Investment

CAPE offers tailored support to bridge the existing gap that limits a project’s ability to reach transaction. We focus on the critical stage of finalising project design and piloting after a feasibility study is complete.

Project Development

Guidance on MRV techniques for carbon and biodiversity outcomes
Developing jurisdiction-specific Project Design Documents (PDDs)
Creating benefit-sharing frameworks
Developing biodiversity studies
Due diligence assessments
Legal support

Transaction Advisory

Creating materials for commercial viability (financial models, pitch decks, business plans)
Identifying and engaging with investors
Managing investor outreach
Building data rooms
Modelling and structuring investment terms
Supporting project-specific credit ratings

Cohort 1 progress to date

Through a comprehensive project selection process, CAPE has identified 149 nature-based carbon projects in development across Africa giving unique visibility of this market. 4 nature-based carbon projects were selected to form the first cohort of CAPE, and 3 further projects were selected as part of an Ethiopia-focused cohort. Further details on these projects can be found on projects.

CAPE (pan Africa)

EOI (2 stage)

105 projects

Detailed Assessments

27 projects

Selection

4 projects selected and due diligence completed

Service provision

Project development and transaction advisory services to 4 projects

Nigeria

Kenya

Tanzania

Zambia

Nov '24

Feb '25

May '25

Aug '25

Nov '25

Apr '26 →

CAPE (Ethiopia)

EOI (1 stage)

44 projects

Service provision

Project development and transaction advisory services to 4 projects

Ethiopia

Detailed Assessments 27 projects

Selection 3 projects selected, DD completed

A Coalition of Expertise

Our Partners

CAPE’s delivery is powered by the complementary experience of three leading organizations

A specialist development agency with over a decade of experience in development finance in Africa. CAPE is an FSD Africa initiative, with funding from UK International Development.

An African-led collaborative initiative focused on mobilising private capital for nature-based solutions and building capacity across the continent.

A mission-driven social enterprise and FCA-regulated advisory firm that designs and delivers investment solutions for nature- and climate-focused projects globally.