Pan-African lender Ecobank Transnational has listed the world’s first ICMA-designated commercial bank Nature Bond on the London Stock Exchange, raising $450 million to channel international capital into African biodiversity protection for the first time at scale.
A bond built on four years of groundwork
Priced on 14 May and settled on 19 May 2026, the 10.25-year Tier 2 instrument carries a call option after 5.25 years. Investor appetite proved far stronger than anticipated. The final orderbook reached $1.36 billion — nearly four times the original $350 million target — allowing Ecobank to increase the offering by $100 million and tighten pricing by 50 basis points.
“Investors did not just support this bond. They demanded more of it,” said Jeremy Awori, Group CEO of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated. “We have spent four years building the systems, governance and accountability needed to make nature finance credible and scalable in Africa.”
On the liability side, net proceeds will refinance ETI’s outstanding $350 million 8.75% Tier 2 Sustainability Notes due June 2031, ahead of a 16 June call date.
Where the money goes
An equivalent amount flows into sustainable agriculture and water infrastructure loans across 24 African markets. Priority deployment targets biodiversity-critical countries including Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Ghana. Eighty-one percent of the eligible lending pool covers countries where agricultural land-use change drives the most biodiversity loss — directing capital precisely where it can do the most good.
The framework sets a high bar for accountability. Every eligible loan meets seven independently verified sustainability conditions, including deforestation screening and supply chain traceability.
Africa hosts 25% of global biodiversity yet receives less than 3% of nature finance worldwide. This bond addresses that imbalance directly, funding the farmers, agri-processors and water operators whose daily activities determine ecosystem outcomes at ground level.
What makes this a Nature Bond
The bond carries the ICMA Nature Bond secondary designation under the ICMA Sustainable Bonds for Nature: A Practitioner’s Guide (June 2025) and aligns with the ICMA Green Bond Principles. Where green bonds cover a broad range of environmental goals, the Nature Bond designation focuses proceeds specifically on biodiversity, sustainable land use and water infrastructure.
Moody’s awarded the transaction its highest possible sustainability quality score — SQS1 Excellent.
“Nature finance will only scale in Africa if it is practical, measurable and connected to the real economy,” said Rachael Antwi, Group Head of Sustainability and ESRM at Ecobank. “This bond links international capital to eligible lending for sustainable agriculture and water infrastructure across 24 countries.”
Who backed the deal
FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, anchored the transaction with a $50 million order — repeating its role in ETI’s inaugural 2021 Tier 2 issuance. Renaissance Capital Africa and Standard Chartered Bank acted as Joint Lead Managers and Joint Bookrunners.
Ecobank Development Corporation served as co-manager and African Finance Corporation as financial adviser. Demand came from investors across the UK, continental Europe, the United States, the Middle East, Asia and Africa.
The transaction follows record 2025 group results, with pretax profit rising 21% to $801 million — a financial foundation that gave investors confidence in the bank’s ability to deliver on its nature commitments over the decade ahead.
