Private sector gets $1m climate change investments in Africa

The governments of Japan and Austria have approved a $1 million fund to strengthen the participation of the private sector in combating climate change.

The funding will be channeled to the Africa Private Sector Assistance (FAPA) grant, which aims to expand the role of the private sector in the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) of African countries. NDCs are national efforts to reduce Greenhouse Gas emissions and form part of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

The project will be implemented by the Climate Change and Green Growth Department of the African Development Bank. It is intended to engage the private sector, especially SMEs, in improving the integration of climate change measures in their investment decisions.

The Regional Member Countries (RMCs) selected for the implementation of the project are Egypt, Angola, Mozambique, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa.

The project is expected to contribute to green and inclusive economic growth in the target RMCs and enhance the capacity of SMEs, project developers and sponsors to scale up green investments that support NDCs. 

It will also help increase private sector investments that facilitate the implementation of NDCs in target countries. The project will address constraints to attracting climate finance, including lack of enterprise knowledge, and insufficient capacity in preparing green bankable projects.

FAPA is a multi-donor thematic trust that provides grant funding for technical assistance, as part of the Bank’s Private Sector Development Strategy.

The governments of Japan and Austria and the African Development Bank are active contributors to the fund, which to date has provided over $68.58 million to 79 projects in 38 countries across the African continent.

The FAPA portfolio includes regional and national projects that improve the business environment, strengthen financial systems, build private sector infrastructure, promote trade, and the development of micro, small and medium enterprises.

African Development Bank and Global Green Growth Institute partner to fast-track Green Growth in Africa

The African Development Bank and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the sidelines of the African Development Bank Group’s Annual Meetings in Busan, to promote programs, projects, joint studies and research activities to accelerate green growth options for African countries.

The African Development Bank and the Global Green Growth Institute will cooperate in several areas, including conducting a joint study on green growth readiness in Africa and exploring ways to align both organizations’ activities with the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

Further, the two organizations will work together to generate synergies in areas, such as the Global Green Growth Institute’s cities programs and the African Development Bank’s initiatives on clean energy, sustainable landscapes, green cities and water and sanitation, with the ultimate goal of strengthening climate resilience in Africa.

The MoU was signed by Amadou Hott, Vice-President, Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth, African Development Bank, and Hyoeun Jenny Kim, Deputy Director General and Head of Green Growth Planning and Implementation, Global Green Growth Institute.

“The African Development Bank believes in building strong partnerships to accelerate Africa’s development. This MoU with the Global Green Growth Institute strengthens our cooperation for effective delivery of the High 5s  agenda in a manner that transitions African countries towards green growth. We very much look forward to this collaboration with GGGI,” said Vice-President Amadou Hott.

Deputy Director General Hyoeun Jenny Kim said, “The MoU we sign today will also support the sharing of green growth knowledge and best practices from GGGI’s Member and partner countries. We look forward to conducting joint research activities with African Development Bank in designing and developing green growth projects and programs and sharing knowledge and experience through launching joint publications and participating in and co-organizing events – all of which will help to promote green growth in Africa.”

This partnership reinforces the work of the Africa NDC Hub hosted by the African Development Bank, in accelerating climate action to transition Africa towards a low carbon and climate resilient development pathway.