New report offers pathways for impact investors in a drive to mainstream radical climate protection technologies in East Africa
Nairobi, Kenya, 24 October 2023 - Impact Investors are favouring digital applications and solar power solutions to reduce carbon emissions in East Africa over crucial water and temperature technologies that could protect East Africans from the effects of the escalating climate crisis, a report released today by the African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA), supported by The Lemelson Foundation reveals.
Unveiled as the world prepares for the COP 28 Climate Conference that has pledged to address adaptation funding for Africa, the joint research with AVPA, Weber Shandwick and Geopoll found private investors remained predominantly focused on initiatives aimed at reducing Africa’s carbon footprint. In comparison, innovations aiming to mitigate adverse climate change effects such as rising temperatures, water scarcity, and extreme weather conditions are primarily reliant on piecemeal funding from philanthropists, highlighting a gap in systematic investment towards climate adaptation in Africa.
“Renewable energy is a known path for investors, offering relatively swift and certain returns. Yet technologies to protect Africans from erratic water supplies, heat spikes and elevated pests and diseases are set to become mainstream necessities. Investors urgently need to focus on high-impact, high-return business opportunities and develop financial models that can handle smaller, more agile investments,” said Frank Aswani, CEO of AVPA.
Developing countries such as Kenya, Uganda and Ethiopia, which are the focus of this study, are ordinarily the most vulnerable to climate change and are also the most financially distressed and cannot look towards adaptation.
Last year, Africa’s annual $277bn climate finance needs dwarfed the world’s official donors’ total aid spending of $204bn. Whereas, foreign direct investment into developing countries topped $1.4 trillion, demonstrating the capacity of private investment to deliver a future-changing boost to climate finance.
“With public finance covering less than a tenth of Africa’s climate costs, and private finance just 1.5%, Africa’s rising temperatures and erratic seasons demand engagement and audacious leadership from impact investors who have the opportunity to advance climate protection technologies and financial models,” said Maggie Flanagan, Programme Officer, The Lemelson Foundation.
In identifying an array of entrepreneurial technologies to protect the region, researchers conducted more than 40 interviews and polled 5,000 East Africans in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda. The most impacted sectors were agriculture, health and infrastructure. The study concluded that ideal high-impact technologies included low-cost nets capturing permanent free water supplies from the air, new soil additives that retain long-term soil moisture, road surfaces made from recycled plastic wastes that stop roads breaking up, and paints and surfaces that reduce heat in homes, urban heat islands, and air pollution.
The escalating frequency and severity of climate-related disasters worldwide have put climate adaptation in the spotlight as a critical social impact focal point.
The report is launched alongside a new Africa Climate Investment Forum that will deliver a swift passage, through investor co-creation, knowledge sharing, and immersion programmes, to a climate adaptation investment ecosystem for the region, which will be able to draw on new impact assessment models and expanded financial tools.
“It was clear throughout our research for this report that investment opportunities and tools exist, but that communication and knowledge sharing are critical to accelerate their widespread uptake in climate engagement across Africa,“ said Allan Kamau, Managing Director of Weber Shandwick East Africa.
The full report and its executive summary are available here: https://avpa.africa/value-hub/priming-private-sector-investment-in-climate-adaptation-innovations-in-east-africa/.
About The African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA)
AVPA is a Pan-African ecosystem builder and a network of social investors collaborating to increase the flow of capital mobilised and deployed for impact across Africa. AVPA is both the leading impact investing network and the only network in Africa that brings together social investors across the entire Continuum of Capital, i.e. Grants, Debt, or Equity, as well as deployers of intellectual and human capital. AVPA envisions an African continent where collaborative and effective social investment results in exponential social impact and achievement of the SDGs.
About Weber Shandwick
Weber Shandwick is a marketing communications firm formed in 2001. Moving beyond traditional comms, our strategists, creatives, and technologists craft campaigns that do more than grab attention – they demand interaction and generate long-term, tangible value for our clients. We’re known for seamless cooperation in pursuit of our clients’ needs, and are proud to say we have a long-standing history of creative work and breakthrough ideas, and a trophy collection to match. We’ve earned several of the industry’s highest national, regional and global honours for our work, including being named PRovoke’s Global Agency of the Decade in 2020 and PRWeek’s Global Agency of the Year in 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.
About GeoPoll
GeoPoll is the global leader in remote research, providing full-service social and market research solutions across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Its robust, high-volume technology platform enables quality and agile survey research worldwide through multiple mobile-based modes. GeoPoll’s team of experienced researchers, based in the regions it serves, provides guidance, expertise, and local context throughout the data collection process. GeoPoll’s impactful insights fuel informed decision-making on critical issues, empowering organisations to unlock the true potential of their data.
About The Lemelson Foundation
The Lemelson Foundation was established by Jerome and Dorothy Lemelson in 1992 with the vision of cultivating future generations of inventors to create a better world. After nearly thirty years of giving, the Foundation continues to be led by the Lemelson family, having provided more than $300 million in philanthropic support of its mission. The Foundation’s broad partner network fosters an enabling environment by inspiring youth to become inventors, increasing access to invention and entrepreneurship education, and supporting the launch, early incubation and mentoring of invention-based enterprises.
0 Comments:
Leave a Reply