Beyond funding: Key takeaways from Session 3 of the “NAbSA Wednesdays of Finance” webinar series

This was the focus of the third and final session of the Wednesdays of Finance webinar series, “Actionable Finance: Turning Investments into Inclusive Outcomes”. Bringing together practitioners from Africa, Latin America and global policy initiatives, the discussion explored how innovative finance mechanisms can move beyond theory and become practical tools for climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and community resilience.

Throughout the conversation, one message emerged clearly: finance alone is not enough. Lasting impact depends on trust, participation, local ownership, and systems that place communities at the centre of decision-making. 

Building finance around the value of nature

Opening the discussion, Chloé L'Ecuyer-Sauvageau from UPA DI (Union des Producteurs Agricoles Développement international) explored how Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes can support both biodiversity conservation and livelihoods when designed with local realities in mind.

Drawing on experiences from the Femmes pro Forêts project, she described how participatory mapping, institutional analysis, and gender-sensitive economic valuation were used to understand which ecosystem services matter most to women and girls and how they interact with local governance systems.

The findings revealed how closely livelihoods are linked to healthy forests. Women identified forests as a critical source of water, fuelwood, agricultural productivity, and income generation, while also highlighting growing pressures from climate change and land scarcity.

"We found that forests are considered a source of life for these communities," Chloé explained. "Any successful ecosystem service programme must be built around the needs, priorities, and realities of the people who depend on these ecosystems every day."

The project also identified locally supported solutions, including beekeeping, sustainable agriculture, reforestation, conservation measures, and fire management practices.

For PES mechanisms to succeed, Chloé emphasized that ecological benefits alone are not enough. "The benefits of providing ecosystem services must outweigh the costs, there must be trust in the programme, and people must genuinely want to participate."

From beneficiaries to financial actors

While innovative finance often focuses on large-scale investments, Erik Camelos Larrea from GIZ Ecuador demonstrated how transformative change can begin with small community savings groups.

Working through ecosystem-based adaptation programmes in Ecuador and across Latin America, Erik highlighted how community-led savings mechanisms are helping vulnerable populations build financial resilience while supporting nature-positive livelihoods.

One striking finding emerged early in the programme: nearly 70% of participating rural groups had never previously accessed formal financial services.

"Community savings groups become an entry point," Erik explained. "They help people build trust, create a savings culture, and move from being simply beneficiaries of finance to becoming financial actors themselves."

Typically composed of 20 to 30 members, the groups pool small monthly contributions and provide low-interest loans to members. Over time, they are linked to local cooperatives and social economy financial institutions, creating pathways to larger financial products.

The approach has also generated important gender outcomes. "In many cases, the savings groups are led by women," said Erik. "We have seen that women-led groups often achieve stronger results in terms of sustainability, inclusion, and long-term performance."

The experience underscores that financial inclusion is not only about access to money—it is about building confidence, ownership, and local capacity.

Financing nature through measurable outcomes

For many Nature-based Solutions, one of the biggest challenges remains attracting investment. While the benefits are often substantial, they are typically public, long-term, and difficult to monetize.

Albert Letting from the International Institute for Sustainable Development explored how outcome-based financing could help bridge this gap.

Presenting examples from river restoration and watershed management projects in Rwanda, South Africa, and Ethiopia, Albert described financing models where investors provide upfront capital and are repaid only when agreed environmental and social outcomes are achieved.

"Outcome-based financing shifts the focus from activities to results," he explained. "The payments are linked to the outcomes generated, not simply to what was implemented."

In Kigali, for example, restoration activities including wetland rehabilitation, afforestation, agroforestry, and urban tree planting are being used to reduce flood risks and soil erosion while delivering wider social and environmental benefits.

However, Albert noted that success depends on demonstrating value. "We need to quantify and communicate the benefits of nature-based infrastructure—whether that's avoided flood damage, reduced health costs, carbon sequestration, or job creation."

At the same time, he cautioned that no single funding source can support these projects alone. "The most successful models combine grants, concessional finance, carbon revenues, and outcome payments. It's about building financial ecosystems that support nature over the long term."

Putting communities at the centre

For Lansana Hassan Sowa from Sierra Leone Network on the Right to Food (SiLNoRF), innovative finance can only succeed when communities are genuine partners—not passive recipients.

Drawing on experiences from Sierra Leone, he highlighted concerns around some carbon projects that have been implemented without meaningful community engagement or understanding.

"Too often communities do not fully understand the projects taking place on their land," he said. "When people are excluded from decisions, finance cannot deliver the transformative outcomes it promises."

Research conducted by SiLNoRF found that many projects lacked adequate processes for free, prior and informed consent and often failed to communicate benefits clearly to local populations.

Recent reforms in Sierra Leone are beginning to address this challenge. Under the country's Customary Land Rights Act of 2022, land investments now require written consent from a majority of affected land-owning families, including women and young people.

For Lansana, this represents a crucial shift. "Finance becomes transformative when communities understand the project, participate in decisions, and can influence outcomes."

Rather than prioritizing externally driven investments, he called for greater support for community forests, agroforestry systems, and locally led restoration initiatives that generate direct benefits for local people.

Looking ahead

The webinar concluded the three-part Wednesdays of Finance series, which explored carbon markets, biodiversity finance, and other emerging financial mechanisms shaping the future of climate and nature investment.

While the tools discussed varied significantly, participants agreed on a common lesson: innovative finance is most effective when it strengthens both ecosystems and the communities that depend on them.

As climate adaptation needs continue to grow, the challenge is no longer simply mobilizing more capital. It is ensuring that investments create lasting resilience, protect biodiversity, support livelihoods, and leave no one behind.

The future of climate finance, speakers concluded, will depend not only on innovation—but on inclusion, trust, and accountability.

Watch the recording from Session 3 and access the slides in English and in French.

Learn more about the NAbSA initiative here.