By Science Africa correspondent
A new fund has been launched to support African enterprises in attracting private investment to scale climate-adaptation solutions that benefit people and nature.
The Nectar fund will provide grants and tailored technical assistance to African businesses developing impactful climate-adaptation and biodiversity-positive solutions, enabling them to attract the private capital needed to scale.
Led by WWF, the fund has been backed by a three-year, NOK 60 million commitment from Norway (the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad) and Norfund).
By strengthening these companies’ business models, impact measurement and investment readiness, the fund aims to accelerate capital flows into landscapes that are home to communities and ecosystems on the front lines of climate change.
“Across Africa, we see entrepreneurs building powerful solutions for climate resilience and nature, but too many of these businesses fall into the ‘missing middle’ – too early or too risky for traditional investors,” Aaron Vermeulen, Global Finance Practice Lead at WWF said.
“The WWF Nectar Fund is our answer to that challenge. By combining grants, technical assistance and our conservation expertise, we can help transform promising nature-positive businesses into investable opportunities, and channel more capital to the people and places that need it most.”
The fund aims to build a de‑risked pipeline of bankable nature solutions for development finance institutions and commercial investors and support at least 14 African businesses with grant funding and tailored technical assistance to become investment‑ready.
Besides, it seeks to unlock climate‑ and nature‑positive investments, with an initial focus on Kenya, Tanzania, and Madagascar and to deliver measurable benefits for climate adaptation, biodiversity, and local communities.
For businesses, the fund offers flexible grant capital and hands-on advisory support to
strengthen operations, unlock capital, and scale positive climate and nature impacts.
For investors, including development finance and commercial capital providers, the fund
creates a curated, de-risked pipeline of opportunities, backed by WWF’s technical expertise and on-the-ground presence in key African landscapes.
“Climate adaptation and nature protection require far more capital than public budgets alone can provide. Norway supports the WWF Nectar Fund because it uses grants strategically to build investment-ready businesses that can mobilise both development finance and private capital,” said Gunn Jorid Roset, Director General of Norad.
“By strengthening African enterprises and creating a credible pipeline for investors, we help
unlock larger flows of capital and deliver measurable results for climate, biodiversity and communities.”
The Nectar Fund builds on WWF’s existing Bankable Nature Solutions network, which has seen success in programmes like the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD), adding a new sourcing channel that can feed into investment vehicles and WWF’s growing investor network.
On his part, Jackson Kiplagat, Chief Executive Officer, WWF-Kenya, hailed the fund as an innovative financing model that has great potential to unlock barriers to scale up bankable nature-solutions that meaningfully benefit people and nature.
“Bankable Nature Solutions can be leveraged by all stakeholders, including businesses, to help tackle the greatest threats facing our planet, chief among them biodiversity loss and climate change,” Kiplagat said.
By working closely with Norfund and other partners, the fund helps bridge the gap between impact-driven enterprises and the capital they need to scale.
Norfund will partner with Nectar Fund, providing investment expertise in business selection, mutual pipeline sharing, and shared learning on key climate and nature themes.
William Nyaoke, regional director for East Africa in Norfund, said, “Scaling climate adaptation across our region will require mobilising significant amounts of capital, yet a persistent barrier is the shortage of investable projects. Norfund is pleased to partner with WWF and Norad to help promising African enterprises move from impact potential to scalable, investment-ready solutions that strengthen climate resilience, protect biodiversity and benefit local communities.”
Norway’s Ambassador to Kenya, Siv Cathrine Moe underscored that Norway’s Africa Strategy is rooted in partnerships based on equality and mutual interests.
“The Nectar Fund reflects this commitment by backing African enterprises that are designing practical, home-grown solutions to climate and nature challenges. When we help strong local businesses unlock the financing they need to scale, we strengthen
communities, protect ecosystems, and support sustainable growth across the region. This is the kind of partnership that delivers real impact for people and nature alike,” Moe stated.
