On the Zambian plains, a new story of possibility is taking shape. Isonde, its name drawn from the Bemba word for earth, is a joint venture born of local insight and regional ambition.
Rather than launch yet another standalone project, Alinea and Forever Wild, have set out to build a purpose-made venture capable of drawing together donor capital, public funding, and private investment into a single, coherent flow of nature finance.
“Through Isonde, Alinea and Forever Wild are combining deep local knowledge with global innovation to unlock nature finance for lasting impact.”
Kerri Rademeyer
Chief Executive Officer, Alinea
The goal is straightforward: unlock the resources needed to protect Southern Africa’s biodiversity while delivering tangible, lasting benefits for the communities who steward it.
The venture’s work will begin where it matters most: on the ground. Early pilots will test new finance models in Southern Africa’s diverse landscapes, proving that conservation returns can be measurable, investable, and equitable.
Those lessons will feed directly into policy dialogue, helping governments craft rules that reward high-integrity approaches and channel capital to the places it can do the most good. At the same time, Isonde will serve as an advisor, sharing hard-won expertise with public agencies, private investors, and grassroots organizations eager to scale similar solutions.
What sets Isonde apart is the partnership behind it. By blending regional knowledge, strong governance, and deep environmental-finance know-how, the venture offers an African-led response to the region’s biodiversity funding gap, one focused less on rhetoric and more on practical results. In the process, it invites investors, policymakers, and conservation champions alike to imagine a future where healthy ecosystems and thriving communities are financed together, not traded off against one another.
The earth beneath our feet is both the venture’s namesake and its purpose. With Isonde, we stand ready to demonstrate that when finance is structured for impact and guided by local insight, nature and people can flourish side by side, and the benefits can ripple well beyond national borders.
“Together, we will work to drive finance for nature in a truly equitable way, where communities and nature are central stakeholders.”
Fiachra Kearney
Executive Director, Forever Wild Initiative (Group)