Nature-based Solutions (NbS), defined as actions that protect, manage, and restore ecosystems while addressing societal challenges, are increasingly promoted as mechanisms to advance climate adaptation, biodiversity conservation, and rural development. Despite growing policy support, the operationalization of NbS within rural financial systems remains limited, particularly in emerging economies. This study examines how social capital and institutional capacity-building processes influence the design and adoption of NbS-oriented financial instruments by local financial institutions and rural cooperatives in Colombia. The research applies a mixed-methods embedded case study of the SolNatura project, which engaged nine financial institutions across two rural departments; qualitative evidence from semi-structured interviews, collaborative workshops, and technical validation sessions was triangulated with quantitative institutional diagnostics and training assessments to analyze changes in organizational capacities, trust dynamics, and financial innovation outcomes. The results demonstrate that technical training alone is insufficient to enable NbS financing: the successful development of nine NbS-aligned financial instruments and a catalog of 112 eligible activities (spanning silvopastoral systems, shade-grown coffee, agroforestry, nature-based tourism, and clean energy technologies) depended on the sequential activation of three complementary forms of social capital: bonding social capital through internal coordination across institutional units; bridging social capital through horizontal peer learning among financial institutions; and linking social capital through structured engagement with climate finance actors. The study concludes that social capital functions as a dynamic organizational capability that enables financial institutions to translate NbS principles into operational financial instruments, offering replicable insights for scaling NbS finance in rural and emerging economy contexts.
Authors: Judith Vergara-Garavito, Rosa Carvajal Barrera, Doris Arévalo Ordoñez, Luis Farak -Flórez, Gloria Calderón Peña, Melani Díaz Moya, Sergio Prieto Mosquera