Green Finance and Environmental, Social and Governance Performance in Africa: Do Financial Innovation and Regional Integration Matter?

ABSTRACT Africa's green capital investment (GCI) has expanded considerably, yet its conversion into environmental, social and governance (ESG) outcomes remains uneven across the continent with limited empirical evidence to offer solutions. This study examines how financial innovation capability (FIC) functions as an intervention in the GCI–ESG performance relationship, with regional integration effects (RIE) as a boundary condition. Drawing on resource‐based, dynamic capabilities and institutional theories, the study analyses panel data from 54 African countries (2000–2023) employing a two‐step system generalised method of moments estimator. FIC partially mediates the GCI–ESG relationship ( β _indirect = 0.031, p < 0.01). RIE independently strengthens baseline FIC ( β = −0.038, p < 0.05) but does not moderate GCI's marginal effect on FIC ( β _interaction = 0.010, p = 0.935). The findings challenge the assumption that capital mobilisation alone drives ESG performance, underscoring the need to build financial innovation ecosystems and deepen regional institutional coordination across Africa.