Global financial technology and data provider Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) has announced a major expansion of its climate risk platform, adding physical and transition risk data for more than five million private companies worldwide. For Africa, where private enterprises form the backbone of the economy, this development could be pivotal in closing long-standing climate data gaps that have hindered investment, compliance, and resilience planning.
The new capabilities combine ICE’s geospatial intelligence platform and climate risk models with private company data from business information giant Dun & Bradstreet (D&B). This integration links detailed company profiles, anchored by D&B’s trusted D-U-N-S® Number system, to high-resolution climate risk metrics. The result is a unified platform capable of assessing exposure to both physical risks such as floods, wildfires, hurricanes, extreme heat, and extreme cold, and transition risks, including greenhouse gas emissions (Scope 1, 2, and 3) and emissions intensity normalized by revenue.
Brian Filanowski, General Manager of Finance & Risk Solutions at D&B, described the move as “a pivotal advancement” in helping organizations identify and manage climate vulnerabilities across global operations. He emphasized that visibility into extended supply chains is essential for making informed, sustainable decisions.
Across the continent, the private sector accounts for up to 80% of economic activity and more than 90% of formal and informal jobs. Yet most African companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises lack the tools, expertise, or resources to measure climate risks in a way that meets international investor standards. This creates data blind spots that discourage climate-conscious investors and limit access to green finance.
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By bringing private company data into its climate risk platform, ICE is offering what Larry Lawrence, Head of ICE Climate, calls “complete portfolio coverage across all major asset classes.” For African businesses, this means they could be assessed alongside public companies, sovereign bonds, municipal assets, and even mortgage-backed securities, creating a level playing field in climate risk transparency.
Such coverage could be transformative for Africa’s participation in sustainable finance markets. Lenders, development banks, and institutional investors increasingly require climate risk assessments before committing funds. Without standardized, credible data, African firms often find themselves excluded from funding opportunities, even when their climate practices are sound. ICE’s offering could help bridge this gap, allowing African companies, whether in manufacturing hubs like Ethiopia, agribusiness supply chains in Kenya, or mining operations in Ghana, to present credible, comparable climate data to potential financiers.
Africa’s role in global supply chains is expanding, from cobalt for electric vehicle batteries in the DRC to horticultural exports from East Africa. Yet multinational buyers are under growing pressure to ensure that suppliers meet environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards. ICE’s expanded platform could help African suppliers map their climate exposures, model risk scenarios, and demonstrate compliance with frameworks such as the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the new ISSB standards.
This could prove especially important as the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and other trade-linked climate rules take effect, potentially imposing tariffs on exports from companies without robust emissions data.
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While the technology offers new opportunities, adoption will depend on affordability, accessibility, and capacity-building. Many African SMEs may still face barriers to implementing the systems and processes required to generate and report high-quality climate data. Partnerships between ICE, African financial institutions, development finance bodies, and governments could be key to ensuring that the benefits of this innovation reach the continent’s smaller enterprises, not just large corporates.
As climate risks intensify and global markets tighten their ESG requirements, having credible, standardized data on private companies is no longer optional, it is a competitive necessity. If leveraged effectively, this tool could position African businesses not just to survive in a climate-constrained world, but to compete and thrive in the green economy.
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