Established in 2022, the African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA) is an African-led collaborative multi-stakeholder initiative, acting as vehicle to drive coordinated advocacy and action across the continent. Explore how they, along with their member institutions, are pioneering nature-positive initiatives in Africa, catalyzing economic sustainability and environmental conservation through insights, strategies, and collaborative efforts.

Sandra Villars

Hello, I am Sandra Villars, a partner with Oliver Wyman. I'm very excited today to have Dorothy Maseke here with us. She is the lead for Nature Finance and the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures at Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Africa, and she's the head of the African Natural Capital Alliance. Hi Dorothy.

Dorothy Maseke

Thank you for having me, Sandra.

Sandra

Dorothy, over half of Africa's GDP is dependent on nature and yet Africa's loss of nature exceeds the global average. What is behind the trend?

Dorothy

Around 25% of global biodiversity actually sits in Africa. Another thing is 65% of the world's arable land is in Africa. We have an expanding population at about 1.3 and more billion people, mostly a very youthful population. Actually, they say a couple of years back, more than 70% of Africa's population is below the age of 30. Now, this is a population that needs to eat, it needs to work, it needs to feed, it needs to survive. And with these vast resources that we have, and the fact that there's a large population, and the fact that this population needs or depends on agriculture, depends on mining, then it means that nature is at risk because trees may have to be cut down to provide space for agriculture, sections of natural habitats may have to be sadly destroyed to make room for exploitation of these minerals or these vast minerals that we have within the continent. And so, when you look at all this combination of factors, then you realize that nature is actually at risk and unless something is done, then it will not be a very sustainable future for, again, this ever- expanding youthful population.

Sandra

And with this challenge that you've outlined, what is at stake if this trend continues?

Dorothy

You cannot separate nature from climate. There are inextricably linked, and nature has a big role in managing, more than a third of the climate risks or the climate issues that we are facing. Firstly, by just our forests absorbing carbon, reducing temperatures and many other factors. And just the linkages with nature and climate are too closely linked. And so, what this basically means is if you don't do something about nature, then it means that climate risks are going to continue. It basically means that the world gets warmer. It basically means that Africa, which is unfortunately the most vulnerable, then gets into great challenges.

Sandra

Let's talk a little bit about you, Dorothy. You left a successful career in financial services and you left that to take up this role leading the African National Capital Alliance and the Nature Finance Lead at FSD Africa. Can you tell us what drove you to do that?

Dorothy

That's a very interesting question, Sandra, and you're really making me think why did I do that? I wanted to wake up and know that I'm making a real difference. But I got to a point where I felt that that difference needed to scale. It needed to go beyond the institutions that I had worked for. It needed to go beyond the boundaries, the geographical boundaries that I was working within. And I felt that my passion was geared towards making a difference continentally and just going out there and saying, look, I'm really passionate about Africa. I really am. I mean, it's a beautiful continent. We are blessed with immense resources, extremely talented people, a youthful population. When you look at all those components, there's no, well, for me, there's no better place to be than to be an African working in Africa at this point in time.

Sandra

So, Dorothy, can you tell us a little bit more about the African Natural Capital Alliance or ANCA?

Dorothy

ANCA’s main focus, initially, was fully, fully financial services, and that's big and that's very important. But as we progressed, we realized the need for finance to actually speak to science. And so, with time we started bringing in conservation agencies, we started bringing in research and academia. We have knowledge partners that we've had to bring in. I think when we set up ANCA, initially it was let's collaborate, let's try and bring all these parties together, let's see what we can do. So, with time, it's become clearer in terms of what we aim to achieve. I think at the beginning it was more of, okay, yeah, so we have these nine founding institutions, can we get to 10? Can we get to 15, can we get to 20, can we get to 40? So, it's one thing, like I said, to talk about the numbers, but I think the most important step and ANCA members have taken that into account - it's about seeing now real solutions on the table, seeing real solutions being rolled out to their market.

Sandra

So ANCA, the African Natural Capital Alliance is trying to achieve quite a lot and by the sounds of things is being quite successful at bringing together all these different communities that typically would speak different languages, the financial services, et cetera. How does ANCA achieve that? Do you have structures in place? Do you have working groups set up? How do you get all these different communities to speak to each other?

Dorothy

Getting everyone on the table was a first step and getting, I said finance, law, financial institutions, scientists, research, thought leaders, experts, etc., having them on one table, I think, was actually the first step. The second step was now having them on this table, ensuring they fully understand what their agenda or the mission of ANCA is, working towards catalyzing nature-positive economies. These institutions then made a commitment. And like I said, if it’s not said, if it's not measured, it will not get done. And so, these institutions made a commitment, what you call the Nature Voices Pledge and the main components of that pledge: Firstly, they indicate and they acknowledge that nature has an important role to play. Secondly, the purpose to actually put nature at the heart of strategy and at the heart of decision-making. And thirdly, they also purpose towards responsible business from a nature perspective. Like I said, nature is linked to climate. So, when you do nature, you've done quite a bit on the climate side. And that also involves or includes coming up with solutions that actually address the nature challenge. So, bringing them to the table, having them make these commitments, what you call the Nature Voices Pledge and I am so proud that we launched it at the Africa Climate Summit, that Kenya had the pleasure of hosting in early September 2023 and Oliver Wyman, you were very helpful in that process. Just having these institutions sit back, review the pledge, give commitments or review the pledge, look at the commitments in that pledge, give their feedback and publicly declare that they will actually take nature into account, was a huge step. Then now comes the process of implementation or actualizing. So, it's one thing to pledge and say it's another thing to actually put the boots on the ground to do the job. And so, with that as ANCA, and of course with your help at Oliver Wyman, we are supporting African Natural Capital Alliance institutions to actually implement or to actually put in place strategies to work towards these commitments.

Sandra

Thank you for shedding some light on that for us, Dorothy. Can you tell us, in building the African Natural Capital Alliance, you brought on advisors to help, and we in particular Oliver Wyman, have been part of the process. What made you decide to bring advisors on?

Dorothy

I'll go back to the word advisors. So, what's the role of an advisor? Someone with the technical competencies that may be lacking. And so that was the real driver behind bringing Oliver Wyman on board. Nature is a new field, and I must confess, I'm not an ecologist. I don't have a PhD in plant or animal science. I wish I did now that I'm in this role. And because of that, there was a need to bring in experts who have a good understanding of both components - the components of finance, which is very strong and for which FSD Africa focuses on because our role is to catalyze financial markets, but then an advisor who also understands various economies and how they will operate, and then an advisor who also understands the science side of it so that when all these three are put together, then as the African Natural Capital Alliance, then it's easier for us to move forward faster. It's easier for us to even know what we want to achieve. So, like I said, initially the dream, when you start off an initiative, you kind of know what you want, but you don't fully know how to get there. And so, what was very clear, catalyze nature-positive African economies focusing on nature. That was a what, but how would we get there? And so, bringing in Oliver Wyman helped us in terms of mapping out the how.

Sandra

Can you give a little bit of a sneak preview about some of the solutions that you think will be coming down the pipeline from the institutions that are part of the African Natural Capital Alliance and some of the types of things that are being thought of as solutions on the ground?

Dorothy

So, engaging with our members, some of them already thinking of sustainability linked bonds. So, basically bonds that actually pay out based on a fulfillment of certain sustainability criteria. Linked to that, of course, conservation bonds, and this is interesting because conservation also touches on wildlife. So, we have some institutions that are already thinking of wildlife conservation bonds, especially institutions that are within countries that are heavily reliant on tourism. But then we also have guarantee type solutions. So, I'll give this example. Any conservation or any nature-related financial solution is risky by all standards. I mean, telling an institutional investor in Europe or in another market to risk their capital, to actually invest in a bond in Africa is not that easy. So, they may want to have this requirement or need to actually do good, but they also need to protect their capital. And so, it becomes a very risky business. And so, as financial institutions, then that aspect leads to quite a number of challenges. And so, some of the products and solutions we've seen anchor members thinking about are guaranteed type solutions, which will de-risk investment in nature and biodiversity within the continent.

Sandra

Can you tell us, just looking forward now, Dorothy, for you personally, what are you most excited about for the next 10 years?

Dorothy

When I look at the African Natural Capital Alliance, I think my dream is to see the African Natural Capital Alliance playing its role in literally supporting resilience of economies. Whether it's through building a new bio economy or whether it's through just focusing on the risk side to ensure that countries remain resilient because there is a difference between remaining resilient and then the pursuit of new opportunities.

Sandra

It's been lovely chatting, Dorothy, and hearing about the African Natural Capital Alliance and your journey and your background. Thank you, everyone, for watching.

This transcript has been edited for clarity.
 

Established in 2022, the African Natural Capital Alliance (ANCA) is an African-led collaborative multi-stakeholder initiative, acting as vehicle to drive coordinated advocacy and action across the continent. Explore how they, along with their member institutions, are pioneering nature-positive initiatives in Africa, catalyzing economic sustainability and environmental conservation through insights, strategies, and collaborative efforts.

Sandra Villars

Hello, I am Sandra Villars, a partner with Oliver Wyman. I'm very excited today to have Dorothy Maseke here with us. She is the lead for Nature Finance and the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures at Financial Sector Deepening (FSD) Africa, and she's the head of the African Natural Capital Alliance. Hi Dorothy.

Dorothy Maseke

Thank you for having me, Sandra.

Sandra

Dorothy, over half of Africa's GDP is dependent on nature and yet Africa's loss of nature exceeds the global average. What is behind the trend?

Dorothy

Around 25% of global biodiversity actually sits in Africa. Another thing is 65% of the world's arable land is in Africa. We have an expanding population at about 1.3 and more billion people, mostly a very youthful population. Actually, they say a couple of years back, more than 70% of Africa's population is below the age of 30. Now, this is a population that needs to eat, it needs to work, it needs to feed, it needs to survive. And with these vast resources that we have, and the fact that there's a large population, and the fact that this population needs or depends on agriculture, depends on mining, then it means that nature is at risk because trees may have to be cut down to provide space for agriculture, sections of natural habitats may have to be sadly destroyed to make room for exploitation of these minerals or these vast minerals that we have within the continent. And so, when you look at all this combination of factors, then you realize that nature is actually at risk and unless something is done, then it will not be a very sustainable future for, again, this ever- expanding youthful population.

Sandra

And with this challenge that you've outlined, what is at stake if this trend continues?

Dorothy

You cannot separate nature from climate. There are inextricably linked, and nature has a big role in managing, more than a third of the climate risks or the climate issues that we are facing. Firstly, by just our forests absorbing carbon, reducing temperatures and many other factors. And just the linkages with nature and climate are too closely linked. And so, what this basically means is if you don't do something about nature, then it means that climate risks are going to continue. It basically means that the world gets warmer. It basically means that Africa, which is unfortunately the most vulnerable, then gets into great challenges.

Sandra

Let's talk a little bit about you, Dorothy. You left a successful career in financial services and you left that to take up this role leading the African National Capital Alliance and the Nature Finance Lead at FSD Africa. Can you tell us what drove you to do that?

Dorothy

That's a very interesting question, Sandra, and you're really making me think why did I do that? I wanted to wake up and know that I'm making a real difference. But I got to a point where I felt that that difference needed to scale. It needed to go beyond the institutions that I had worked for. It needed to go beyond the boundaries, the geographical boundaries that I was working within. And I felt that my passion was geared towards making a difference continentally and just going out there and saying, look, I'm really passionate about Africa. I really am. I mean, it's a beautiful continent. We are blessed with immense resources, extremely talented people, a youthful population. When you look at all those components, there's no, well, for me, there's no better place to be than to be an African working in Africa at this point in time.

Sandra

So, Dorothy, can you tell us a little bit more about the African Natural Capital Alliance or ANCA?

Dorothy

ANCA’s main focus, initially, was fully, fully financial services, and that's big and that's very important. But as we progressed, we realized the need for finance to actually speak to science. And so, with time we started bringing in conservation agencies, we started bringing in research and academia. We have knowledge partners that we've had to bring in. I think when we set up ANCA, initially it was let's collaborate, let's try and bring all these parties together, let's see what we can do. So, with time, it's become clearer in terms of what we aim to achieve. I think at the beginning it was more of, okay, yeah, so we have these nine founding institutions, can we get to 10? Can we get to 15, can we get to 20, can we get to 40? So, it's one thing, like I said, to talk about the numbers, but I think the most important step and ANCA members have taken that into account - it's about seeing now real solutions on the table, seeing real solutions being rolled out to their market.

Sandra

So ANCA, the African Natural Capital Alliance is trying to achieve quite a lot and by the sounds of things is being quite successful at bringing together all these different communities that typically would speak different languages, the financial services, et cetera. How does ANCA achieve that? Do you have structures in place? Do you have working groups set up? How do you get all these different communities to speak to each other?

Dorothy

Getting everyone on the table was a first step and getting, I said finance, law, financial institutions, scientists, research, thought leaders, experts, etc., having them on one table, I think, was actually the first step. The second step was now having them on this table, ensuring they fully understand what their agenda or the mission of ANCA is, working towards catalyzing nature-positive economies. These institutions then made a commitment. And like I said, if it’s not said, if it's not measured, it will not get done. And so, these institutions made a commitment, what you call the Nature Voices Pledge and the main components of that pledge: Firstly, they indicate and they acknowledge that nature has an important role to play. Secondly, the purpose to actually put nature at the heart of strategy and at the heart of decision-making. And thirdly, they also purpose towards responsible business from a nature perspective. Like I said, nature is linked to climate. So, when you do nature, you've done quite a bit on the climate side. And that also involves or includes coming up with solutions that actually address the nature challenge. So, bringing them to the table, having them make these commitments, what you call the Nature Voices Pledge and I am so proud that we launched it at the Africa Climate Summit, that Kenya had the pleasure of hosting in early September 2023 and Oliver Wyman, you were very helpful in that process. Just having these institutions sit back, review the pledge, give commitments or review the pledge, look at the commitments in that pledge, give their feedback and publicly declare that they will actually take nature into account, was a huge step. Then now comes the process of implementation or actualizing. So, it's one thing to pledge and say it's another thing to actually put the boots on the ground to do the job. And so, with that as ANCA, and of course with your help at Oliver Wyman, we are supporting African Natural Capital Alliance institutions to actually implement or to actually put in place strategies to work towards these commitments.

Sandra

Thank you for shedding some light on that for us, Dorothy. Can you tell us, in building the African Natural Capital Alliance, you brought on advisors to help, and we in particular Oliver Wyman, have been part of the process. What made you decide to bring advisors on?

Dorothy

I'll go back to the word advisors. So, what's the role of an advisor? Someone with the technical competencies that may be lacking. And so that was the real driver behind bringing Oliver Wyman on board. Nature is a new field, and I must confess, I'm not an ecologist. I don't have a PhD in plant or animal science. I wish I did now that I'm in this role. And because of that, there was a need to bring in experts who have a good understanding of both components - the components of finance, which is very strong and for which FSD Africa focuses on because our role is to catalyze financial markets, but then an advisor who also understands various economies and how they will operate, and then an advisor who also understands the science side of it so that when all these three are put together, then as the African Natural Capital Alliance, then it's easier for us to move forward faster. It's easier for us to even know what we want to achieve. So, like I said, initially the dream, when you start off an initiative, you kind of know what you want, but you don't fully know how to get there. And so, what was very clear, catalyze nature-positive African economies focusing on nature. That was a what, but how would we get there? And so, bringing in Oliver Wyman helped us in terms of mapping out the how.

Sandra

Can you give a little bit of a sneak preview about some of the solutions that you think will be coming down the pipeline from the institutions that are part of the African Natural Capital Alliance and some of the types of things that are being thought of as solutions on the ground?

Dorothy

So, engaging with our members, some of them already thinking of sustainability linked bonds. So, basically bonds that actually pay out based on a fulfillment of certain sustainability criteria. Linked to that, of course, conservation bonds, and this is interesting because conservation also touches on wildlife. So, we have some institutions that are already thinking of wildlife conservation bonds, especially institutions that are within countries that are heavily reliant on tourism. But then we also have guarantee type solutions. So, I'll give this example. Any conservation or any nature-related financial solution is risky by all standards. I mean, telling an institutional investor in Europe or in another market to risk their capital, to actually invest in a bond in Africa is not that easy. So, they may want to have this requirement or need to actually do good, but they also need to protect their capital. And so, it becomes a very risky business. And so, as financial institutions, then that aspect leads to quite a number of challenges. And so, some of the products and solutions we've seen anchor members thinking about are guaranteed type solutions, which will de-risk investment in nature and biodiversity within the continent.

Sandra

Can you tell us, just looking forward now, Dorothy, for you personally, what are you most excited about for the next 10 years?

Dorothy

When I look at the African Natural Capital Alliance, I think my dream is to see the African Natural Capital Alliance playing its role in literally supporting resilience of economies. Whether it's through building a new bio economy or whether it's through just focusing on the risk side to ensure that countries remain resilient because there is a difference between remaining resilient and then the pursuit of new opportunities.

Sandra

It's been lovely chatting, Dorothy, and hearing about the African Natural Capital Alliance and your journey and your background. Thank you, everyone, for watching.

This transcript has been edited for clarity.