Designing Technical Assistance Activities for Adaptation and Resilience Companies

The report identifies three categories of barriers to the growth of adaptation and resilience companies in developing countries: context barriers (policy, institutional, and market environments), business model barriers (uncertainty of value-add, high costs, and lack of technical capacity), and internal capacity barriers (management and operational gaps). Through case studies of Planalytics and JBA Consulting, and a mapping of 41 TA facilities, the authors recommend a TA facility structure consisting of three support lines: Preparation (technology transfer and business planning), Partnerships (market development and stakeholder linkages), and Resilient Systems (policy studies and impact methodologies). This framework is applied to the design of the CRAFT Resilience Accelerator, a proposed USD 20 million facility linked to a USD 500 million private equity fund.

• Adaptation and resilience companies face three primary categories of barriers when expanding into developing countries: context barriers related to the overall investment environment, business model barriers affecting consumer uptake, and internal business capacity barriers regarding the company's own operational capabilities.
• Context barriers in developing countries include poor policy environments, such as a lack of government clarity on climate change legislation, and poor market environments characterized by a lack of capital supply to adaptation companies and their users.
• Business model barriers for adaptation technologies often center on the 'no value-add' problem, where customers lack understanding of the incentives and financial impacts of climate risk management on individual profitability.
• Internal capacity barriers for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries include insufficient financial records, poor governance, and lacking accounting functions, which increase investment risk for private equity managers.
• Case study evidence from Planalytics indicates that 'market making'—educating clients on the bottom-line value of climate analytics—is a primary barrier to global expansion.
• Case study evidence from JBA Consulting highlights a gap between international risk assessment firms and local providers, noting that government contracts in developing countries often require local execution and expertise.
• The report identifies four archetypes of technical assistance models: the Venture Capital (VC) Model, the Standalone Technical Assistance Facility (TAF), the One-off Activity, and the Strategic Partnership.
• Standalone TA facilities are more flexible than VC models and can pursue market development activities beyond the needs of specific investee companies, which is critical for early-stage markets.
• The proposed CRAFT Resilience Accelerator TA facility is recommended to have three support lines: Preparation (for technology transfer and business plans), Partnerships (for stakeholder linkages and demand stimulation), and Resilient Systems (for policy studies and impact methodologies).
• To ensure efficiency and alignment with fast-moving portfolio companies, the report recommends that the 'Preparation' support line be managed by the fund manager, while 'Partnerships' and 'Resilient Systems' may have separate governance.

APA

Hallmeyer, K., & Tonkonogy, B. (2018). Designing Technical Assistance Activities for Adaptation and Resilience Companies. Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Designing-Technical-Assistance-Activities-for-Adaptation-and-Resilience-Companies.pdf

Chicago

Hallmeyer, Karoline, and Bella Tonkonogy. Designing Technical Assistance Activities for Adaptation and Resilience Companies. Climate Policy Initiative, 2018. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Designing-Technical-Assistance-Activities-for-Adaptation-and-Resilience-Companies.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hallmeyer |first1=Karoline |last2=Tonkonogy |first2=Bella |title=Designing Technical Assistance Activities for Adaptation and Resilience Companies |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=May 2018 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Designing-Technical-Assistance-Activities-for-Adaptation-and-Resilience-Companies.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hallmeyer2018designing, author = {Hallmeyer, Karoline and Tonkonogy, Bella}, title = {{Designing Technical Assistance Activities for Adaptation and Resilience Companies}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2018}, month = may, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Designing-Technical-Assistance-Activities-for-Adaptation-and-Resilience-Companies.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }