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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Regen Cities : A systemic framework for regenerative urban development

Regen Cities is a flagship program developed by Regenopolis in 2022 to support the emergence of regenerative urban ecosystems across Africa. It aims to bridge the gap between impactful local solutions and investment capital by building enabling infrastructure for project origination, incubation, and financing. The program is structured around three integrated pillars : Regen Hubs (local project incubators), Regen Tech (access to vetted solutions), and Regen Capital (a blended finance platform).

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women harvesting spirulina copyright gcca+ credit denis sassous

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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The Alliance for the Great Green Wall

Launched in January 2023 at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Alliance for the Great Green Wall was a bold initiative spearheaded by Regenopolis. It aimed to create a collaborative platform of mission-aligned organizations to unlock the untapped potential of regenerative value chains across the Sahel, by directly supporting ecopreneurs and linking them to global markets. The Alliance sought to become a service ecosystem bridging local regenerative efforts with global capital, expertise, and corporate demand.

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