News
2025 SADC Sustainable Finance Forum
Publication Date: 09/06/2025
“Africa is the frontline of climate change, facing rising temperatures, water stress, biodiversity loss, youth unemployment and energy poverty. Yet its natural assets –forests, wetlands, fertile soil and the African sun – are sustainable resources for resilience and growth.
“If protected and leveraged responsibly, they can support climate adaptation, generate sustainable livelihoods, and unlock new investment opportunities. Sustainable finance can help achieve this by directing capital where it can do the best for both people and our planet,” says Banking Association South Africa (BASA) Managing Director, Bongiwe Kunene.
South Africa is president of the G20 this year and this is an opportunity for the SADC to influence the global sustainable finance agenda, in line with South Africa’s theme of solidarity, equality, sustainability. The SADC Sustainable Finance Forum 2025 precedes the in-person meeting of the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group. Given the scale of the challenge, the SADC Sustainable Finance Forum 2025 necessarily has an ambitious agenda, including:
- Building capacity for international capital raising by equipping delegates with the tools necessary to successfully raise capital in local and international financial markets for climate, nature and social projects.
- Contributing to the development of regional frameworks for the issuance and trading of sustainability-themed bonds by helping to create a favourable policy and regulatory environment, in line with international best practice and with input from banks, central banks, stock exchanges, and governments.
- Advancing practical applications by providing concrete, actionable insights into how sustainable finance instruments can be used to fund environmentally sustainable projects with social impact, focusing on key sectors such as climate adaptation, water management, climate smart agriculture, as well as nature and marine conservation.
- Identifying obstacles and proposing solutions to advance sustainable finance in the region.
Ensuring a just transition is essential to the credibility and success of sustainable finance. For banks, a just transition requires financing solutions that integrate social considerations alongside climate and environmental goals, particularly in regions with high unemployment and unequal access to resources.
Banks not only finance climate-smart infrastructure and innovation, but also help transition industries, clients and regions reliant on high-emission sectors to adapt and diversify to low-carbon operations. For established businesses, pivoting to align with sustainability goals is resource-intensive, time-consuming, and complex. But banks have integrated sustainability into their existing credit assessments, risk frameworks, and investment strategies and audit portfolios for climate exposure.
Financing terms are being recalibrated to incentivise sustainable practices. Smart regulation, blended finance tools, credit risk guarantee mechanisms and industry-government alignment will turn the opportunity of sustainability into investment into economic infrastructure and, ultimately, better living standards. The key – which the SADC Sustainable Finance Forum seeks to advance – is aligning finance strategies with global climate action and development goals.
South Africa has the potential to position itself as a regional hub for green finance innovation, particularly because of its strong banking infrastructure. Research agency Krutham estimates that South Africa’s largest banks have a combined sustainable finance portfolio of close to R700 billion.
“Finance, when used intentionally, can be a force that bridges social divides, restores ecosystems and accelerate resilience, and builds sustainable prosperity,” Kunene concludes.
The SADC Sustainable Finance Forum 2025 is hosted by BASA, the SADC Banking Association, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC). For full details please go to https://sustainablefinanceforum.co.za.