1 July 2026 | Casablanca, Morocco — The Capacity-building Alliance of Sustainable Investment (CASI), in partnership with BANK OF AFRICA - BMCE Group, and supported by the Casablanca Finance City (CFC) Authority, successfully concluded the two-day CASI Sustainability Forum today. Held in Casablanca as an important financial centre in Africa, the landmark event convened approximately 250 on-site and online participants from 39 jurisdictions to discuss topics on sustainable finance and green technologies to support Africa's resilient growth and sustainable future.
Against the backdrop of heat waves and other intensifying climate risks and the global transition toward low-carbon development, the forum focused on practical mechanisms to mobilise sustainable investment across four core themes: Carbon Markets and Climate Finance Mobilisation, Transition Finance for Emerging Economies, Financing Climate Adaptation and Resilience, and Advancing Sustainability Disclosure.
Dr. Ma Jun, Chairman of CASI, welcomed participants from across Africa and beyond. He shared his perspective that sustainable finance in Africa should go beyond carbon mitigation, embracing access to water, food, and energy as part of a more holistic approach to the continent’s development. He also highlighted the growing momentum in Morocco and the exciting opportunities ahead for China-Africa green collaboration, from clean technology partnerships to new pathways for affordable green financing.
Brahim Benjelloun-Touimi, Board Member of BANK OF AFRICA and Chairman of the Board of Bourse de Casablanca, emphasised that sustainable finance has moved beyond aspiration into a discipline requiring sound regulatory frameworks, robust taxonomies, and — above all — human capital. He called for greater regional coherence across Africa’s diverse regulatory environments and urged financial institutions to act as trusted partners in their clients’ decarbonisation journeys, not merely as providers of capital. He concluded with a rallying call: “Africa should not merely be a beneficiary of global sustainable finance; it must become one of its leading contributors. Better still, in areas such as Carbon Markets and Climate Adaptation, Africa has the potential to become a genuine laboratory for innovation, delivering solutions that benefit the entire planet.”
In his keynote, Mr. Nabil Badr, Head of the Banking Supervision Directorate at Bank Al-Maghrib stated that “capacity building isn’t an option, but a prerequisite” to making their regulatory ambitions a reality. He explained that they designed multi-phase training programs over a two-year period specifically for the Moroccan banking sector to build up internal knowledge, manage climate-related risks, and identify green finance opportunities.
Michael Sheren, Fellow of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) and Co-chair of the Green Investment Principles (GIP) Steering Committee, also highlighted that capacity building is an ongoing journey of learning and adaptation. Noting that “what defines green finance and what knowledge is required continues to evolve,” Sheren stressed that the technical frameworks of green finance—such as taxonomies—are constantly advancing to meet global needs. He underscored that platforms like the CASI are essential for keeping bankers, regulators, and financial institutions at the forefront of this transition, serving as the engine that transforms learning into actionable net-zero objectives worldwide.
A major highlight of the forum was the launch of French-language courses on CASI Academy, highlighting its capability to localize capacity building services , strengthen partnerships, and support widespread capacity building across the francophone region. CASI Academy is an online learning platform designed to ensure continuity of capacity building beyond in-person events.
The two-day event was also highlighted by the formalisation of strategic Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), signed between CASI and BANK OF AFRICA, The ESG Exchange, and the Casablanca Finance City Authority to build capacity on sustainable investment in Africa by using the network and contents CASI has developed in the past few years. These partnerships establish a comprehensive framework for cooperation across joint training programs, digital learning, professional certification, research, talent development, expert mobility, and cross-border knowledge exchange. Together, these agreements reflect a shared commitment to strengthening institutional capacity, expanding the sustainable finance ecosystem across the continent, and delivering sustainability capacitation at scale throughout African markets.
Cheng Lin, Head of Secretariat of CASI, noted that while SMEs play a central role in economic development and the low-carbon transition, they continue to face persistent challenges in accessing suitable transition finance. He highlighted the Lookback Transition Instrument as a practical solution to support SMEs through a more accessible, outcome-based approach to transition financing.
Aziz El Khyari, Director of Business Development and Carbon Markets at CFCA, presented on the significant potential of African carbon markets, highlighting how projects from nature-based solutions to renewable energy initiatives can generate both financial returns and environmental value. A panel discussion followed, exploring policy frameworks, project pipelines, and the role of financial institutions in supporting market development.
In his closing remarks at the forum, Dr. Ma Jun outlined a strategic vision for scaling global sustainable finance. He emphasized the critical importance of adopting interoperable taxonomies to prevent market fragmentation and enable developing economies to access international capital markets. Highlighting the transformative role of innovation, he underscored how new artificial intelligence tools can dramatically lower the entry barriers for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) by reducing disclosure costs by as much as 90%. Looking ahead, Dr. Ma noted that CASI has already trained 10,000 individuals and rallied global partners to help achieve an ambitious target of providing capacity-building for 100,000 people by 2030 through scalable e-learning platforms and localized content co-development.
The forum concluded with an invitation for everyone to join the next CASI Sustainability Forum to be held in September in Hong Kong during the third green week.
For more information about CASI and future initiatives, please visit www.casi.net.
Media Contact:
Ms Jessica Tsang: Jessica.tsang@sprinkles.org.hk
About CASI:
The Capacity-building Alliance of Sustainable Investment (CASI) is an international cooperation platform committed to delivering high-quality, high-impact sustainable finance capacity-building services for developing countries by serving as a global aggregator and distributor of sustainable finance knowledge. Officially launched at COP28 in December 2023, CASI has grown to include over 70 member institutions, including financial companies, industry associations, NGOs, service start-ups, and higher education institutions, with a geographic reach spanning Southeast Asia, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and other emerging markets.
CASI supports the G20’s Transition Finance Framework (TAAP) by facilitating the exchange and dissemination of sustainable finance knowledge through various initiatives such as the CASI Sustainability Forum, CASI Seminar, CASI Technical Assistance (TA), and the CASI Academy—an online e-learning platform offering more than 40 modules on diverse topics related to sustainable finance. For more information about CASI and its members, please visit www.casi.net.
About Bank of Africa (BOA):
Founded in 1959, BANK OF AFRICA is a leading pan-African financial services group. Capitalizing on its ownership by O Capital group, regional leader involved in diverse business sectors with high-growth potential, BANK OF AFRICA is a universal bank with a highly diversified range of operations including retail, commercial, investment banking and specialized financial services such as leasing, factoring, consumer credit and debt recovery. Present in 32 countries including 20 in Africa, the group perpetuates itself through a continental strategy while maintaining an international vocation as it is well positioned in Africa, Europe, Asia and north America. It’s today the 3rd largest Moroccan banking institution with over 15000 professionals across its different subsidiaries.
More about BOA: www.bankofafrica.group