Zambia to benefit from AfDB natural capital financing initiative

Zambia is set to benefit from a US$4.23 million African Development Bank (AfDB) initiative aimed at helping African countries better manage their natural resources and use them to attract investment and support sustainable economic growth.

The African Development Fund, the concessional lending arm of the AfDB Group, has approved the grant to finance the second phase of a programme that will strengthen the integration of natural capital into development planning and public financing, according to a statement issued on Tuesday.

The project, which would run from October 2026 to September 2029, is expected to help governments place greater economic value on natural assets such as forests, water resources, biodiversity and minerals when formulating policies and investment strategies.

Zambia is among 13 participating countries, alongside Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Tanzania, Togo and Zimbabwe.

“The programme will strengthen policy frameworks, statistical systems, institutional capacity and knowledge required to assess natural capital and integrate it into national development plans,” according to the AfDB.

The initiative would support participating countries through policy advice, technical assistance, biodiversity financing tools, statistical assessments, pilot projects to measure green wealth, capacity building and knowledge sharing.

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AfDB Chief Natural Resources Officer, Innocent Onah, said the project was intended to help countries build climate-resilient and inclusive economies by improving the way natural wealth is identified, measured and managed.

“This project is intended to contribute to development that is resilient to the effects of climate change, nature-friendly, and inclusive, by enabling African countries to better identify, measure, and manage their natural wealth, while strengthening the evidence base that informs development financing, dialogue on sovereign policies, and the mobilisation of green investments,” Onah said.

He said the initiative was expected to deliver long-term economic benefits, including stronger gross domestic product (GDP) growth, increased foreign direct investment, improved competitiveness, job creation, poverty reduction and stronger financial and economic risk ratings across participating countries.

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