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African Development Bank official: Environmental and social aspects are becoming increasingly important for investors

African Development Bank official Ole Stubdrub

20 May 2026 13:58 (UTC +04:00)

"For many investors, environmental and social aspects are becoming increasingly important and distinct," said Ole Stubdrup, an official of the African Development Bank, at the event titled “Decarbonization of Housing and Buildings in the Context of the City–Industry–Climate Nexus,” held within the framework of WUF13 and organized by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, APA reports.

He stated that there are many financial risk-reduction measures that can be used to de-risk investments and attract various sources of finance: “Of course, this can include everything from grants and concessional loans to commercial loans and the bundling of different sources. We want to take measures for the most vulnerable groups in our societies. This is a very important part of financing.

We are not only dealing with housing; we are also dealing with major large-scale infrastructure or critical infrastructure. We provide essential infrastructure. There are many ways to expand the overall investment package. It is important to have institutions at all levels — national, local, technology providers, and project management bodies. They must have skills, capacity, and stability. Otherwise, the risk becomes very high. If any of these is weak, it becomes increasingly difficult to attract the private sector.”

He also noted that there are specific issues in the African region, such as land ownership: “Innovative models that reflect local needs, such as microfinance and phased models, need to be developed.”