Investment Readiness for the Landscape Resilience Fund

The 'Investment Readiness for the Landscape Resilience Fund' project aims to bridge the gap between private investors and SMEs implementing climate-resilient practices in sustainable agriculture, forestry, and nature-based solutions. By providing technical assistance, zero-interest loans, and matchmaking services, the project seeks to make at least nine SMEs 'investment-ready,' thereby unlocking private capital for climate adaptation in developing countries and Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

• The project identifies a significant gap in adaptation finance, noting that while costs could reach USD 280-500 billion per year by 2050, average investments only reached USD 30 billion in 2017/2018.
• A primary barrier to private investment is the lack of 'investment-ready' SMEs, which the project addresses by providing pre-investment services to help businesses meet investor expectations.
• The project is structured into four components: establishing systems for SME selection and readiness plans, providing pre-investment services (including zero-interest loans), facilitating matchmaking with private investors, and implementing knowledge management and M&E.
• The project targets the selection of at least nine SMEs, with a specific requirement that 50% of GEF funding be directed toward SMEs in Least Developed Countries (LDCs).
• To ensure financial sustainability, the project implements a reimbursement system where SMEs commit to partially or fully repay pre-investment services once they secure private investment or generate sufficient cash flow.
• The project utilizes a specific vulnerability framework based on IPCC AR5 to assess SMEs' exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity, categorizing climate hazards into first-level (e.g., extreme precipitation) and second-level derived hazards (e.g., floods).
• Gender integration is a core objective, aiming to ensure women-led SMEs have equal access to support and that selected SMEs integrate gender analysis and action plans into their business cases.
• The project expects long-term adaptation benefits including the resilience of approximately 50,000 hectares of land (split between agricultural and rural land) and the strengthening of livelihoods for an estimated 35,000 beneficiaries.
• The total project cost is USD 14,067,306, with a GEF grant of USD 1,142,661 and co-financing of USD 12,821,806, primarily from a confidential multinational corporation.
• The project focuses on three main categories of adaptation interventions: sustainable agriculture, forestry, and other nature-based solutions (NbS).

APA

WWF International (2021). Investment Readiness for the Landscape Resilience Fund. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/975/6qzkoe286q_WWF_GEF_10436_Investment_Readiness_for_the_LRF_Project_Document_fin_g5aEu63.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. Investment Readiness for the Landscape Resilience Fund. 2021. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/975/6qzkoe286q_WWF_GEF_10436_Investment_Readiness_for_the_LRF_Project_Document_fin_g5aEu63.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=Investment Readiness for the Landscape Resilience Fund |date=19 May 2021 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/975/6qzkoe286q_WWF_GEF_10436_Investment_Readiness_for_the_LRF_Project_Document_fin_g5aEu63.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternational2021investment, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{Investment Readiness for the Landscape Resilience Fund}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2021}, month = may, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/975/6qzkoe286q_WWF_GEF_10436_Investment_Readiness_for_the_LRF_Project_Document_fin_g5aEu63.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }