SADC GUIDELINES FOR SUSTAINABILITY BONDS

The increased frequency and costs of climate change impacts in Africa are predicted to result
in extreme losses to agriculture production, livestock, water supply, and human health.
These, if not abetted, can in time lead to, or exacerbate existing, social, economic and
national security issues. Meeting these challenges will require the continent to take advantage of a diverse range of ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’ capital raising tools and sources of funding to raise funds for sectors such as sustainable agriculture, green resilient infrastructure for transport, water, and waste
management, with the goal of promoting sustainable, inclusive and equitable economic growth, reducing inequalities, creating greater opportunities for all and promoting sustainable management of natural resources and ecosystems.
Green, Social, Gender, Sustainability, Sustainability-Linked and other sustainability-themed bonds (hereinafter collectively referred to as ‘Sustainable Bonds’) are one tool that can offer the African capital markets an opportunity to leverage private capital at scale towards building more climate-resilient and sustainable economies. This Guide is aimed at the capital market institutions, mainly the Exchanges but also other market players, with the objective to provide guidance on the steps towards establishing
Sustainable Bond market regulatory frameworks in the SADC region in line with international best
practices and standards. The development of this Guide was sponsored and led by Financial Sector Deepening Africa (FSD Africa) in collaboration with the Committee of SADC Stock Exchanges (CoSSE) with the participation of other key SADC institutions and stakeholders.
In drafting the Guide, a high-level market scoping was done with the aim of ensuring that the Guide is harmonised with other Green, Social and Sustainability Bond Guidelines in the region, see further in Annex 1.