The Carbon Markets Africa Summit 2026 ended in Kigali on 15 October with new financing initiatives and calls for stronger project preparation, reliable carbon accounting and equitable community benefits. The discussions focused on how African countries can attract investment into climate action and conservation while ensuring projects deliver credible environmental outcomes.

Held from 13 to 15 October at the Kigali Convention Centre, the summit brought together policymakers, project developers, carbon-credit buyers, financial institutions and technical experts. Participants examined obstacles preventing carbon projects from advancing from development to commercial transactions, covering blue carbon, reforestation, agriculture, rangeland restoration and waste management.

A major development was the launch of the Africa Nature Impact Fund by Finance Earth, FSD Africa and FSD Africa Investments. The platform aims to raise US$100 million for early-stage nature and nature-based carbon projects across Africa, with an initial close of US$20 million targeted for 2027. FSD Africa Investments has committed £5 million as a cornerstone investor, equivalent to approximately US$6.6 million. The wider fundraising target and proposed first close remain objectives, rather than funds already fully raised or deployed, according to FSD Africa.

The fund is designed to address the financing gap that often prevents projects from reaching implementation and generating carbon-credit revenue. Developers must frequently pay for feasibility studies, technical design, land and community engagement, environmental assessments, validation, verification and regulatory authorisations before credits can be issued and sold. These early costs expose projects to significant risks that conventional lenders and commercial investors may be unwilling to take on.

By providing capital at earlier development stages, the Africa Nature Impact Fund aims to help projects advance towards implementation and more predictable revenue streams. Its establishment also reflects efforts to align nature finance with measurable environmental outcomes and the economic interests of communities hosting projects.

FSD Africa estimates that more than 62% of Africa’s gross domestic product depends on natural capital. However, investment in nature-based carbon and biodiversity projects remains below the level needed to support conservation and restoration at the required scale. Financing remains particularly challenging for projects that provide public environmental benefits but have uncertain commercial returns and lengthy development timelines.

At the summit, participants highlighted that attracting international buyers alone would not ensure African countries retain greater value from carbon markets. Progress will also depend on effective project development, local technical expertise, accessible financing and the terms governing carbon-asset sales. Projects must demonstrate that emissions reductions or removals are real, measurable and sufficiently durable, while preventing double counting and managing environmental and social risks.

Rwanda used the gathering to highlight its efforts to connect carbon-market development with broader financial-sector reforms. On 15 October, the Kigali International Financial Centre (KIFC) launched Rwanda’s Sustainable Finance Roadmap 2.0, outlining priorities through 2030 to improve investment readiness, expand carbon finance and strengthen sustainability data.

The roadmap contains 54 initiatives building on the country’s first sustainable finance framework, introduced in 2022. Its priorities include preparing businesses and projects to attract investment, strengthening financial-market infrastructure and expanding financing options for sustainable activities. The framework seeks to translate policy commitments into greater capital deployment and business investment, according to Rwanda Dispatch.

KIFC Chief Executive Officer Hortense Mudenge highlighted the role sustainable finance could play in business expansion, job creation and economic resilience. She also outlined Rwanda’s ambition to position Kigali as a centre for carbon aggregation and investment structuring, potentially connecting African project developers with international investors.

Turning that ambition into results will require financing arrangements that accommodate lengthy project development periods, fluctuating carbon-credit prices and changing regulatory requirements. Investors need confidence in projected credit revenues, while developers require clarity on authorisations, ownership rights, applicable standards and cross-border credit transfers.

Rwanda’s Minister of Environment, Dr Bernadette Arakwiye, also outlined an approach under consideration that would channel a share of carbon transaction proceeds through the Rwanda Green Fund to support project preparation and early-stage financing. The proposed mechanism could help address initial funding shortages, although its impact will depend on its eventual design, financing and implementation.

Technical workshops and solution labs examined authorisations, risk-sharing, registry interoperability, evolving international requirements and local verification capacity. Demonstrations of digital monitoring and reporting tools reflected growing interest in technology that can track project performance and strengthen the evidence supporting carbon-credit claims.

However, technology alone cannot guarantee environmental integrity. Credible outcomes require sound methodologies, reliable baseline assessments, consistent monitoring and independent verification. Strengthening the ability of African institutions and technical specialists to perform these functions will be important for reducing project costs and expanding local participation in the market.

Market credibility and the distribution of financial benefits also featured prominently in the discussions. Carbon projects can generate revenue for forest conservation, land restoration, agricultural improvements and other climate-related activities. However, disputes can arise when communities have limited influence over project design or the contracts governing how proceeds are distributed.

Shikha Sharma, Global Technical Lead for Offsets and Removals within SGS’s Climate Solutions business, emphasised the importance of independent validation and verification in building confidence in carbon credits. She highlighted environmental integrity, credible projects and meaningful benefits for local communities as essential elements of market development.

These safeguards are particularly important for projects involving land, forests, mangroves and agricultural systems used by local communities. Clearly established land and resource rights, transparent contracts, accessible grievance mechanisms and fair benefit-sharing arrangements can reduce conflict and support lasting project outcomes. Poor consultation and unclear ownership, by contrast, can expose projects to legal, reputational and operational risks.

Maxwell Gomera, UNDP Resident Representative in South Africa and Director of the UNDP Africa Sustainable Finance Hub, used his closing remarks to stress the need to turn relationships formed at the summit into investment-ready projects and completed transactions. He emphasised that community rights and fair benefit-sharing should be incorporated from the outset, rather than addressed only after financing has been secured.

The focus on implementation reflects a broader challenge facing African carbon markets. Bringing project developers and buyers together may generate commercial interest, but it does not automatically result in signed offtake agreements, financial close or issued credits. Developers must still demonstrate that their projects meet buyers’ technical requirements, obtain regulatory approvals and deliver dependable environmental and financial results.

African countries must also navigate international carbon-market rules, including Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which establishes frameworks for countries to cooperate in meeting climate targets. When emissions reductions are authorised for international transfer, corresponding adjustments and transparent accounting can help prevent the same mitigation outcome from being counted towards multiple countries’ climate targets. Requirements depend on the transaction and applicable rules, making institutional capacity and clear national procedures essential.

The summit was hosted by Rwanda’s Ministry of Environment, with the United Nations Development Programme and the African Development Bank serving as host organisations. The Development Bank of Southern Africa was a host partner, while AUDA-NEPAD participated as a strategic institutional partner. Their involvement reflected the need for coordination among national governments, development finance institutions and continental organisations as carbon markets expand.

Development finance institutions face the challenge of attracting private investment without shifting disproportionate risks onto communities or weakening environmental safeguards. Governments must establish transparent regulatory systems that protect national interests while giving investors sufficient certainty to commit capital. Project developers, meanwhile, must deliver verified environmental outcomes at costs and scales that buyers are prepared to support.

Emmanuelle Nicholls, Portfolio Director at VUKA Group, said the ambition was for African countries to shape carbon markets that finance the continent’s priorities and create lasting value for its people. She added that the organisers hoped to build on the connections made in Kigali and see more African projects secure the investment and partnerships needed to grow.

The next phase will depend on whether the financing initiatives and commercial discussions produce tangible results. Progress towards the Africa Nature Impact Fund’s targeted first close in 2027, implementation of Rwanda’s Sustainable Finance Roadmap 2.0 and the conversion of showcased projects into investment agreements will provide practical indicators of progress.

For Africa, the opportunity extends beyond increasing carbon-credit sales. Building effective markets will require financing credible climate action, strengthening local technical capacity and ensuring communities receive a fair share of the value generated. Achieving these goals will depend on capital reaching projects at the appropriate stage, transparent regulatory systems supporting transactions and environmental integrity remaining central to long-term market credibility.

Source: Africa Sustainability Matters