ESP Climate Hub: Mainstreaming regeneration in African Business Support

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In order to accelerate the deployment of regenerative urban ecosystems, Regenopolis partnered with ES Partners to design a dedicated program embedding climate and nature considerations into the heart of SME support in Africa. Initially envisioned as a platform to catalyze regenerative city projects, this collaboration evolved into the creation of the ESP Climate Hub – a transversal initiative aiming to mainstream climate resilience, nature-positive development, and regenerative practices across all ESP activities.

Challenge

While cities are central to Africa’s development, they are also highly vulnerable to climate risks and ecological degradation. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which make up 95% of businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa, are the main economic actors in cities but remain largely excluded from the climate transition agenda. Regenopolis and ESP recognized the need to bridge this gap by equipping entrepreneurs and business ecosystems with the tools, knowledge, and capital to build regenerative, low-carbon, and inclusive urban futures.

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How Regenopolis helped

Approach

  • Initial co-design of a Regenerative Cities program and shared vision for a cross-cutting climate and nature platform
  • Strategic integration of regenerative approaches into ESP’s two main practice areas: Insights (research, policy, advisory) and Scale (entrepreneur support and ecosystem building)
  • Identification of three key sectors driving regenerative living:
    • Cities (“how we live” – water, energy, housing, mobility)
    • Food systems (“how we eat” – regenerative agriculture and value chains)
    • Tourism (“how we travel” – low-carbon, nature-positive hospitality)
  • Design of dedicated tools and methodologies (e.g. ESG assessment frameworks, capacity-building modules, impact tracking systems)
  • Design of ESP Climate Hub as a strategic pillar for systemic transformation across the continent
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Our partners

Our impact

The project resulted in significant outputs and outcomes

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Strategy design for the ESP Climate Hub, streamlining climate and nature-positive strategies across all programs
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Internal alignment within ESP to embed regenerative principles into SME support across multiple countries
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Identification of priority sectors and value chains to pilot regenerative approaches
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New visibility for climate-aligned entrepreneurship, and framing of ESP as a continental actor in Africa’s green transition
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Case studies

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CityLab Africa: Co-Creating the Cities of Tomorrow

CityLab Africa was an initiative launched in 2019 by the French Presidential Council for Africa (CPA), in partnership with makesense Africa. The project was designed and coordinated by Diane Binder, informed by the emergence of Regenopolis. It aimed to catalyze collaborative innovation for sustainable African cities by bridging local ecosystems and French stakeholders through multi-stakeholder project design and acceleration.

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WB Rural Logistics: Decarbonizing Rural logistics in the Sahel

Commissioned by the World Bank, this one-year regional study aimed to assess the enabling environment for scaling rural logistics systems that are both climate-resilient and low-carbon. Regenopolis, in partnership with GRID Engineers and ES Partners, delivered a deep-dive analysis of rural transport infrastructure and accessibility across Senegal, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Niger, with a focus on linking logistics planning to the growth of local agricultural value chains and inclusive development in fragile, climate-vulnerable areas.

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Ibiti Projecto: Rewilding a 6,000 hectares forest through hospitality

Ibiti Projecto is a socio-environmental project focused on another way of inhabiting the planet, respectful and regenerative. Here, immersive and authentic hospitality serves a wider project: rewilding of 6,000 hectares, reintroduction of endangered species, sustainable production of organic food and the revival of a rural community. Premium eco-tourism experiences are transformative both to the travelers and to the place). Ibiti Projecto is a testimony that authentic place-based development can generate measurable social and environmental impact as well as financial returns.

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