FMDQ seeks to deepen Nigeria’s sustainable-finance market

Nigeria’s sustainable-finance landscape received a major boost on Monday as FMDQ Group PLC, in collaboration with FC4S Lagos, FSD Africa and Chapel Hill Denham, entered into a strategic partnership with recycling company Kaltani International Ventures Limited to accelerate climate-aligned financing and strengthen the country’s circular-economy value chain.

The partnership, formalised at a signing ceremony in Lagos recently, is convened under the Nigerian Green Bond Market Development Programme and aims to mobilise private capital for large-scale environmental projects. Senior representatives of all partner institutions were in attendance.

Under the collaboration, the organisations will jointly develop market-based mechanisms to support sustainable industrial growth, enhance circular-economy solutions and create a viable financing framework to tackle Nigeria’s surging plastic-waste crisis. Nigeria is currently ranked among the world’s top 10 plastic waste producers, underscoring the urgency of the initiative.

At the heart of the partnership is a new sustainable-finance product designed by FC4S Lagos with support from FSD Africa and FMDQ Group.

The instrument will provide Kaltani, one of Nigeria’s leading plastic recycling and recovery companies, with expanded access to climate-smart capital.

When completed, it is expected to become Africa’s first corporate plastic and carbon-linked debt instrument, following the World Bank’s 2024 Plastic Waste Reduction-Linked Bond issued for Ghana and Indonesia.

FSD Africa’s Associate, Financial Markets, Ms Joy V. Kendi, described the collaboration as a pioneering leap for the continent’s climate-finance ecosystem.

“Nigeria is paving the way for what could become Africa’s first corporate plastic- and carbon-linked instrument. This initiative shows the power of domestic capital to finance climate-smart socio-economic growth,” she said, adding that Phase I, including stringent carbon and biochar credit assessments, was already underway.

Kaltani’s CEO, Engr. Obi Charles Nnanna said the partnership represents “a new model for circular-economy finance in Africa, one that turns waste into wealth, jobs, and measurable climate impact.”

He added that the initiative demonstrates the credibility and transformative potential of local climate-finance solutions.

FMDQ Group’s Group Chief Operating Officer, Ms Tumi Sekoni, highlighted the partnership’s alignment with the goals of the FMDQ Green Exchange, designed to enhance transparency and credibility for sustainable instruments.

She noted that the collaboration reinforces FMDQ’s ability to facilitate structured financing that addresses environmental challenges while supporting economic competitiveness.

The partnership marks a major milestone in Nigeria’s journey toward a sophisticated, sustainable-finance ecosystem. It underscores the country’s growing commitment to global climate-finance standards and its ambition to position itself as a leading destination for environmentally driven investment across Africa.

For FMDQ Group, the initiative is another demonstration of its long-term commitment to advancing sustainable finance by championing market-led solutions that mobilise capital for green projects and promote resilience, transparency and measurable environmental impact.

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