Bridging NBS Policy, Practice & Finance in Africa: Pathways to Financing Nature-based Solutions in Africa

9 AM EDT | 3 PM CAT

Nature-based solutions (NBS) and green-gray infrastructure (GGI) are emerging as powerful tools for building climate resilience in African cities and around the world. When designed and implemented effectively, these approaches can protect people from climate shocks, enhance biodiversity, and improve socio-economic and health outcomes.

Momentum is growing. A 2025 WRI report found that new NBS projects in sub-Saharan Africa have increased by an average of 15% annually from 2012-2021 and secured over $21 billion in funding. Yet this is only a fraction of the estimated $170 billion in climate finance to Africa over this same period. Closing this gap requires stronger pipelines of bankable projects and better connections between cities, project developers, and a diverse array of financing.

Through its Green-Gray Infrastructure Accelerator, WRI is advancing a cross-sectoral approach to NBS policy integration and financing across 11 cities in Africa. Through peer learning, project design, and investor roundtables, the Accelerator moves GGI projects from ideas to implementation and policy integration.

Join WRI, city leaders, project developers, and financing institutions for a discussion on the key barriers, solutions, and practical insights to unlock investments in NBS and GGI across Africa. Speakers will share lessons learned, highlighting strategies to build investor confidence, unlock capital, and accelerate climate-resilience infrastructure.

This webinar is part of WRI Africa’s Green-Gray Infrastructure Accelerator Webinar Series, which draws on the experience of Cities4Forests, Urban Water Resilience, and partners from across the continent to illuminate best practices for planning, financing, implementing and institutionalizing natured-based solutions for urban climate resilience. Watch the recordings of our previous webinars on inclusive implementation of NBS here and here; and on policy integration here (English | French), here, and here.

_{Image by WRI Ethiopia/IISD}