KfW Biodiversity Financing Facility launched in Uganda

In February 2018, AFC launched a new project in Uganda called Biodiversity Financing Facility. The facility is implemented by the East African Development Bank (EADB) as the Project Executing Agency (PEA), with the AFC-led consortium providing technical assistance for the first 3 years of this initiative.

The Biodiversity Financing Facility aims to support selected biodiversity-friendly investments in the private sector in Uganda. Uganda’s biodiversity conservation faces significant funding gaps of up to USD 176 million per annum, which this facility aims to address through private sector investment in selected industries.

Target sectors are expected to be eco-tourism, fisheries/aquaculture, organic agriculture, forestry, protected areas, and other wildlife-based enterprises, with other biodiversity-related fields possible (e.g. energy). The facility is one of the first such funds of its kind in Africa and aims to become an effective conservation mechanism to grow over long term in scale.

This innovative initiative aims to set up an investment vehicle with initial capitalization of EUR 6 million, which would provide local currency loans with attractive terms to each target industry. The financial products will also meet industry leading environmental & social criteria compliance.

The fund initial capitalization is done by German bilateral Financial Cooperation through KfW Development Bank. The project expects investments to begin in the second half of 2018.

Contact: Marcel Pape, Project Manager, marcel.pape [at] afci.de, >GL3EEK3LKHJL3JG or Juraj Ujházy, Team Leader, juraj.ujhazy [at] afci.de , >EHI3JKF3ELD3FLL