Standard Bank Arranges US$175 Million Sustainable Finance Facility for Wilderness Holdings

Standard Bank has successfully led a landmark US$175 million syndicated sustainable financing transaction for Wilderness Holdings Limited, acting as sole mandated lead arranger, underwriter, and sustainability co-ordinator. The five-year senior secured funding package includes a US$125 million term facility and a US$50 million revolving credit facility. The deal is designed to support Wilderness’s long-term growth, strengthen liquidity, extend debt maturities, and provide a flexible capital structure aligned with the group’s operating cash flows. Wilderness Holdings Limited, a world-renowned ecotourism company and parent of the Wilderness Safaris and Wilderness Collection brands, is widely regarded as Africa’s premier ecotourism operator. The group manages 45 safari camps and lodges along with 10 scheduled overland safaris across Botswana, Congo, Kenya, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. These operations have a combined annual capacity to host approximately 35,000 guests. The company specialises in luxurious, environmentally sensitive lodges in iconic destinations such as the Okavango Delta, Namib Desert, Hwange and Mana Pools National Parks, Damaraland, Etosha, and Kafue National Park. Supporting services include Wilderness Air for scheduled and charter flights, while the Wilderness Wildlife Trust and the Children in the Wilderness (CITW) programme focus on wildlife conservation and environmental education across multiple African countries. Wilderness Holdings is listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange. The financing carries a sustainable finance structure that reflects the nature of Wilderness’s business, where the vast majority of operating expenditure supports eligible green and social activities, including biodiversity conservation, land preservation, eco-tourism operations, and community socio-economic development. The facility incorporates impact reporting on key metrics such as land under conservation and economic value generated through conservation initiatives. “We are proud to have partnered with Wilderness on this landmark sustainable finance deal, supporting a business that exemplifies how conservation, community development, and commercially resilient growth can coexist,” said Brydone Graham, Deputy Head of Debt Financing Solutions at Standard Bank Corporate and Investment Banking. Keith Vincent, Chief Executive Officer of Wilderness Holdings Limited, added: “This transaction represents an important milestone for Wilderness as we continue to scale our conservation and eco-tourism platform across Africa. The structure and sustainability alignment of the financing provide us with the flexibility and certainty required to support our long-term strategy.” Simone Hutchings, Executive Vice President for Sustainable Finance at Standard Bank CIB, noted that the deal aligns with the bank’s purpose of mobilising capital that delivers both sustainable impact and resilient commercial outcomes in Africa.