Africa’s bioeconomy offers significant opportunities to drive resilient economic growth, job creation, trade competitiveness and nature-positive development. Yet the continent captures only a small share of the final value of its biological resources, with financing, infrastructure, policy and institutional constraints limiting the development and scale of bioeconomy value chains.

This session will explore how MDBs can help address these constraints and unlock greater private investment in capturing value for nature from Africa’s bioeconomy. It will examine the role of finance and infrastructure in enabling the development of competitive, sustainable value chains and webs, from early-stage innovation through processing, value addition and market development. It will also explore the role of development finance in opening up new markets and reducing market barriers for small and medium bio-innovators – moving them from innovation to industry levels of scale and development.

The discussion will draw on three priority areas of the African Bioeconomy Finance Hub - Data-Driven Biology & Innovation, the Blue Bioeconomy, and Regenerative Land Economies - to illustrate different financing and infrastructure needs and models, as well as identify specific and universal opportunities for blended development finance and MDB intervention.

Speakers will explore what types of capital, infrastructure, enabling policies and institutional capabilities are needed to move bioeconomy opportunities from potential to investable and scalable businesses, drawing on examples from across Africa where these approaches are already being developed or put into practice. The discussion will also consider how MDBs, DFIs, governments, investors and other partners can work together to mobilise investment and support inclusive, resilient and nature-positive economic development across the continent.