Preparing for the Nature Transition: Practical Insights from African Businesses
On 26 March, Business for Nature hosted a dynamic webinar bringing together industry experts to explore how businesses in Africa are addressing the nature crisis and integrating nature into their business operations. The discussion focused on what the transition to a nature-positive economy would look like, the shifts already taking place towards this goal and how companies are taking action by aligning with the high-level business actions on nature.
Watch the full webinar recording
Understanding the business case for nature action in Africa
Our CEO, Eva Zabey, set the stage by emphasizing the economic dependence of businesses on nature, the growing momentum around nature action and the risks businesses face if they fail to act now.
“A nature-positive future includes new opportunities to generate revenue, reduce costs and mitigate risks. Several African countries are already leading the way and showing how this can be done. ”
For example, Seychelles launched the world’s first sovereign blue bond raising USD15 million, while in 2023, Gabon issued Africa’s first debt-for-nature-swap for USD$500 million and five more African nations are preparing to follow suit.
Research from UNEP also shows that every dollar invested in restoration creates up to 30 dollars in economic benefits. But if ecosystem services collapse, Sub-Saharan Africa could face USD358 billion in economic losses.
In the context of these risks and opportunities for African businesses, Oluwasooto Ajayi, Business for Nature’s Africa Lead, moderated the webinar. She introduced the high-level business actions on nature (Assess, Commit, Transform, Disclose) and highlighted key resources (such as the sector guides and the nature strategy handbook) to support businesses in their nature journey.
Drivers of nature action in Africa
Dorothy Maseke, Head of the Africa Natural Capital Alliance, highlighted the urgent need to address nature loss as a critical economic and business risk. She mentioned that while Africa’s natural capital is vast, it is not limitless and must not be wasted – its degradation poses a significant risk to economic growth and stability. Each year, the continent loses an estimated USD195 billion due to illicit activities and environmental degradation, with up to 62% of GDP at risk due to dependencies on nature. Business leaders must recognize that nature loss directly impacts operations, supply chains and resilience – whether through disrupted freshwater access, declining agricultural yields or weakened infrastructure. The call to action is clear: businesses must lead in protecting, restoring and sustainably using Africa’s natural wealth, ensuring long-term prosperity for the continent.
Dorothy’s remarks were followed by Andrea Athanas, Vice President of Enterprise and Investment at the African Wildlife Foundation. Andrea mentioned that businesses are increasingly recognizing the interdependence between nature, prosperity and long-term business success. She highlighted how, over the past 25 years, she has seen biodiversity shift from being seen as a charitable cause to a core business concern, with companies now addressing both risks and opportunities linked to nature. She provided examples from African landscapes, showing how businesses are investing in restoration to mitigate risks such as erosion, biodiversity loss and climate impacts. She also emphasized the growing engagement from diverse sectors – including agriculture, infrastructure and ICT – driven by market access, regulations and youth-led innovation.
The interdependence between prosperous societies, prosperous businesses and the natural environment is now clear and Africa can be a leader in demonstrating sustainable development pathways that integrate nature conservation with economic growth.
From commitment to action: insights from leading businesses in Africa
Giovanni Sale, General Manager of Sustainability and Technology Centre at Sappi Southern Africa, emphasized that addressing sustainability is not just a corporate responsibility for Sappi, it’s fundamental to the company’s survival. With financiers increasingly linking loan and bond rates to ESG performance, businesses must meet stringent environmental targets, such as reductions in water use and emissions. Beyond financial incentives, he underscored that sustainability is essential for long-term success. Sappi, a global forestry and paper company, depends on healthy ecosystems for its operations – failing to protect nature would directly threaten its business. Giovanni acknowledged that while sustainability frameworks may initially seem complex, they follow a logical, step-by-step approach: assessing risks and opportunities, prioritizing actions, implementing plans and tracking progress and disclosing the progress made.
Representing Kenya’s largest telecommunications provider, Valentine Cheruiyot, Manager for Climate and Environmental Compliance at Safaricom, spoke about how technology and environmental stewardship go hand in hand. While many assume that tech companies have minimal interaction with nature, Valentine explained how several operations – such as installing telecom infrastructure, laying fiber cables, running data centers and producing hardware – have significant environmental impacts. To mitigate these effects, Safaricom is prioritizing reducing its water consumption, energy use and electronic waste as part of a wider sustainability strategy.
Beyond managing its own footprint, Safaricom sees investing in nature as an opportunity to drive innovation and cost efficiency. The company aligns with and is shaping global ESG standards, including the GSMA nature guidance for mobile operators, which helps assess and address environmental impacts.
“When you invest in nature, you are then able to reduce the cost of operations and come up with innovations that address environmental issues. From that, you’re not only addressing a certain environmental problem, but you’re also generating income that contributes to your bottom line.”
Both Sappi and Safaricom recognize that sustainability is not a solo journey – large businesses also have a responsibility to help smaller enterprises become more environmentally sustainable.
Valentine mentioned that sustainability is a responsibility shared by everyone – individuals, small businesses and large corporations alike. Safaricom supports this through raising awareness and training its suppliers to ensure they align with the company’s environmental goals. It also fosters innovation by supporting businesses with sustainable ideas, such as embedding digital ‘smart’ technology in waste collection bins to improve plastic recycling efficiency. Finally, Safaricom is tackling human-wildlife conflict by developing early-warning technology that notifies communities of approaching animals, enabling proactive prevention.
Sappi sources approximately two million tons of wood from third-party growers in South Africa, ranging from large commercial farmers to small-scale subsistence growers. Through its Khulisa (Grow Together) program, the company has supported around 4,000 small-scale tree farmers over the past 30 years, offering financial assistance, seedlings, technical training and a guaranteed market. Given that trees take twenty years to mature, the farmers recognize the need to protect surrounding ecosystems in order to safeguard these long-term investments. Sappi also partners with universities and industry associations to develop localized climate models, helping farmers select tree species best suited to future environmental conditions.
“We long ago realized that we are not having a discussion about business versus nature. We are actually saying, ‘We are here because of nature, we are here to protect nature.’ It is never ‘business versus nature.’ If you don’t look after one, the other can’t work.”
Read more about Safaricom and Sappi’s nature journeys:
The webinar showcased how African businesses are not just responding to the nature crisis but are also actively shaping solutions. From the financial sector recognizing nature loss as a business risk to companies embedding sustainability into supply chains, innovation, and investment strategies, the webinar made it clear that action on nature is already underway in Africa.
As businesses align with frameworks like ACT-D and collaborate across sectors, they are proving that integrating nature into business strategies is not just necessary but beneficial - driving resilience, unlocking new opportunities and securing long-term prosperity for both people and the planet.
To find out more about our work in Africa, please contact Oluwasooto Ajayi.