A new a platform to help Africa raise funds for fighting climate change is under development.
The Green Exchange (TGE), the brain child behind the platform, says the project is aimed at making it easy for corporates to raise funds through green bonds while helping environment-conscious investors to put their money in sustainable projects.
Green bonds are fixed-income financial instruments targeting projects geared towards safeguarding the environment by reversing adverse effects of climate change.
The new web and mobile application, which is “designed purposefully for emerging markets such as Africa”, seeks to fight climate change by helping developing countries to “realise the dream of decarbonising and dealing with the impacts of a warmer planet”.
The innovation, the team said is a “user-friendly web and mobile application platform” that serves as an intermediary between established institutions, startups and investors who will be trading their securities.
The platform’s co-founder and chief executive officer, Orla Enright, noted that her team has been burning midnight oil in a race to actualise the project ahead of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) to be held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November.
“Nicknamed the African COP, COP27 is set to build on previous successes and serve as an opportunity for stakeholders to effectively tackle the global challenge of climate change and pave the way for future ambition, and also comes as the continent reels from several extreme weather events such as drought and destructive floods, thus increasing the threat of food insecurity,” the team explains in an official statement.
The platform has set sights on issuance of $5 billion green bonds in five years.
“Emerging markets (EM) green bond issuance is expected to double in the next three years compared to the previous three. The EM green bond market is expected to cross the $100 billion mark of annual issuance by 2023,” the team said.
Africa nations are being hit heavily by global warming due to a multiplicity of factors comprising lack of funds and innovations to counter the mounting threats.
Firms will be able to raise funds through the green bonds. TGE will support the firms by seeking investment through public and private development funds across the globe.
“To boost liquidity in the platform, TGE will build a thriving secondary market to ensure listed green bonds are tradeable prior to their maturity,” the team noted.
Climate advocates are betting on technology to unlock capital for green projects.