We Believe in Here, A new content series highlights the solutions that power Africa’s environmental sustainability.
Standard Bank recently launched We Believe In Here, a series that shares stories of positive impact through solutions that power Africa’s environmental sustainability. One of the voices of the campaign is Brian Marshall, Head of Investment Banking at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking.
Marshall oversees the bank’s mergers and acquisitions, capital markets and lending businesses across Africa, providing advice, equity, and debt capital, as well as structured financing solutions.
Sustainability has become a key part of these solutions, helping to drive economies on the continent, in a way that focuses on protecting natural resources and securing improved quality of life for communities in which the bank operates.
Positive Capital
Africa is Standard Bank’s home, and it has been for over 160 years. The Group’s strategy is consistent with its mission of driving sustainable growth on the continent and contributing to Africa’s needs and priorities as expressed in the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs), the Paris Agreement, the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and the sustainability frameworks in its countries of operation.
This is achieved, in part, by managing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks, formalising ESG compliance and sustainability and embedding a culture of responsible banking across the Group.
Tied to this is positive capital, which is needed to develop much-needed infrastructure and growth capital in an environmentally and socially responsible manner.
Prioritising sustainable finance solutions, Marshall and his team drive capital and solutions into areas where they are needed, financing projects and structuring transactions that have a measurable and sustainable positive impact on our clients and communities as well as the environment.
“We are best placed to play a major role in identifying opportunities and managing risk, and leveraging this into local contexts,” says Marshall. “This is reflected in our commitment to mobilise a cumulative amount in excess of R250 billion in sustainable finance by the end of 2026. In 2022, we were able to mobilise in excess of R50 billion, which was more than double the R20 billion achieved in 2021.”
Just Transition
Marshall’s passion for the just energy transition to a lower carbon economy, and the role Africa is set to play in this journey, also highlights the importance of sustainability to investment banking – particularly to energy security in Africa.
Reliable and efficient energy is essential for economic development, and Standard Bank plays a critical role in providing advisory services and capital to finance renewable energy projects that will have a positive social, environmental and economic impact on the continent.
An abundance of mineral reserves, such as cobalt and copper, will be pivotal worldwide in this transition. As Standard Bank, we are committed to mobilise and channel capital into pan-African projects set to benefit the environment, while meeting social objectives and economic growth.
Our extensive footprint across the continent, deep sector coverage, the quality of our products, and the largest balance sheet in Africa provide Standard Bank’s unprecedented foundation. Marshall believes in his team’s proven ability to connect and integrate in a way that will make a positive difference to Standard Bank’s clients, the prosperity of local communities, and the environment across Africa.
