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The Adaptation Benefits Mechanism (ABM) is a results-based financing tool that uses grants to repay commercial investors based on third-party valuations of adaptation benefits. Launched in 2019 and running through 2023, the pilot phase aims to deploy USD 50 million, with the African Development Bank leading implementation. The mechanism is particularly suited for land use and forestry projects and requires the involvement of project beneficiaries in design and monitoring. While applicable globally, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire are identified as the most supportive countries for proposing pilot projects.

The Africa Sustainable Forestry Fund II (ASFFII) is a USD 150 million private equity fund managed by Criterion Africa Partners that invests in sustainable forestry value chains in Africa. The fund utilizes a blended equity structure comprising one commercial investor, Calvert Impact Capital, and five development finance institutions (DFIs): AfDB, BIO, EIB, FinDev, and FMO. ASFFII focuses on plantation rehabilitation, expansion, sustainable downstream manufacturing, and biomass, requiring investees to adhere to Forest Stewardship Council guidelines. The fund provides both mitigation and adaptation benefits through reforestation, sustainable harvesting, and conservation set-asides. Current investments are located in eSwatini, Gabon, South/Southern Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda, with Botswana, Kenya, and Rwanda identified as potential future markets.

The WACA program aims to strengthen coastal resilience in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritania, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, and Togo by mainstreaming climate risks into national policies and investing in transport, urban, and natural resource sectors. Supported by a USD 222 million package approved by the World Bank in 2018, the initiative utilizes a 'WACA Marketplace' to match investment demand with partner financing. As of June 2021, 17% of committed funds were disbursed, with specific outcomes in Benin including the securing of 3,500 households from erosion and flooding. The document highlights that the success of such regional instruments depends on strong regional cooperation, political stability, a pipeline of bankable projects, and currency stability.

The Lesotho Transport Infrastructure and Connectivity project, funded by the IDA, focuses on constructing 35 footbridges to maintain access to social services and markets during heavy rainy seasons. The project integrates climate-responsive measures to address flood vulnerability, with approximately 10% of construction costs dedicated to resilience-building. Implementation is led by the Lesotho Ministry of Public Works and Ministry of Transport, relying on national adaptation planning and climate data to ensure successful outcomes.

Climate Investor Two is a fund managed by a consortium including Climate Fund Managers and FMO to deploy EUR 160 million from the Dutch Fund for Climate and Development. It utilizes a three-stage financing structure—development, construction, and re-financing—to target water, oceans, and sanitation subsectors. The fund aims to attract institutional investors and local banks into low- and lower middle-income countries by offering investable securities and building local capacity to manage climate project risks. Success depends on a strong ecosystem of project developers, favorable policy environments, and moderate currency stability in target countries.

The African Conservancies Fund (ACF), established by Conservation International (CI), provides debt capital to the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust (MWCT) to fund sustainable revenue-generating activities like eco-tourism and carbon credit generation. Having provided USD 500,000 in loan capital, CI aims to scale this to USD 5 million over two years and eventually USD 100 million. The model relies on local land ownership and a legal trust structure to ensure community-led management and income generation, with plans to expand the concept across Sub-Saharan Africa.

AgDevCo utilizes concessional capital and technical assistance to develop commercially viable agri-businesses in Sub-Saharan Africa, exemplified by the establishment of Zambia's first commercial seed potato producer, Saise Farming Enterprises Ltd. The organization leverages a mix of private and DFI funding to de-risk investments and build climate-resilient agricultural value chains.

The Green Aggregation Tech Enterprise (GATE) is a risk-pooling mechanism that guarantees a baseline level of revenue for rural mini grid developers, addressing the lack of credit histories among rural customers. By diversifying risks across different geographies and customers, GATE aims to enable developers to meet debt obligations and crowd in commercial debt. The instrument requires strong implementing partners, support from Development Finance Institutions for initial capital, and a robust regional electricity market, specifically leveraging the Southern African Power Pool (SAPP). The initiative is currently preparing for launch in southern Africa, starting with Zambia, and aligns with the Zambian National Energy Policy 2019.

The World Food Program (WFP), funded by DFID, provided unconditional cash transfers and food vouchers to over 24,000 vulnerable households in Mozambique following severe droughts (2015-16) and cyclones (2019). The program, implemented with the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Action and the National Institute of Social Action, improved food security and climate resilience, particularly for the poorest households. The document highlights the necessity of vulnerability data and reliable distribution mechanisms for such programs and notes similar safety net initiatives across Sub-Saharan Africa that could integrate adaptation benefits and access climate finance.

The African Risk Capacity (ARC) operates as a mutual insurance company and agency to help African Union members manage climate shocks through weather-index insurance. Since 2014, ARC Ltd has provided USD 720 million in coverage and paid USD 65 million in claims, primarily targeting the agriculture sector. Participation requires the use of Africa RiskView (ARV) software to define payout thresholds based on rainfall deviation. The program's viability depends on robust subnational climate data, government technical expertise in sovereign insurance, and high-level political awareness.

The document describes a World Bank-supported initiative in Cambodia using performance-based contracts and IDA credit of USD 170 million to improve road rehabilitation and climate resilience. It suggests this model could be scaled to African countries with strong project pipelines and private investor pools, identifying Morocco, Madagascar, and Lesotho as potential candidates based on previous adaptation financing.

The Restoration Insurance Service Company (RISCO) is a social enterprise piloting a model in the Philippines and Vietnam to protect mangroves by monetizing their flood reduction and carbon sequestration values. RISCO generates revenue through annual fees paid by insurance companies for reduced risk exposure and the sale of blue carbon credits. The model aims to benefit coastal communities, asset owners, and insurance companies, with Kenya identified as a potential site for replication in Africa due to its mangrove cover and growing non-life insurance market.

TCX addresses currency and interest risk in emerging and frontier markets by providing long-term fixed- and inflation-linked cross-currency and interest rate swaps. Since 2013, it has de-risked nearly USD 8.4 billion of external lending across 70 currencies. In 2020, Sub-Saharan Africa was the second most active region, representing 19% of de-risked finance (USD 187 million) across 18 countries. The model relies on high-credit-rated counterparties, such as development finance institutions, to manage credit risk and connect solutions to end-clients. While 70% of 2020 supported financing targeted microfinance and SMEs, infrastructure and renewable energy projects accounted for approximately 6%.

The document describes Cooling as a Service (CaaS) as a pay-per-service model that removes upfront costs for customers by having service providers own and maintain energy-efficient cooling equipment. It highlights the role of sale-leaseback arrangements with banks to scale financing and identifies Nigeria's ColdHubs as a practical application for solar-powered cold storage. The text also notes the importance of legal frameworks, national energy efficiency policies, and the potential for CaaS implementation in 21 countries that prioritized urban planning in their NDCs.

The Agriculture and Climate Risk Enterprise (ACRE) provides index insurance to smallholder farmers in Africa, utilizing mobile technology and solar-powered weather stations to trigger rapid payouts for yield loss. By 2018, the program insured over 1.7 million farmers in Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda, covering crops such as maize and coffee against drought, storms, and excess rain. The model relies on a 50% premium subsidy shared between farmers and agribusiness partners, and leverages mobile money platforms like M-PESA to reduce operational costs and accelerate claims settlement. The document identifies critical success factors for scaling, including robust local climate data, progressive regulation, and the high adoption of mobile money across Africa.

The Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP), launched by the Ethiopian government in 2005, provides cash or food transfers to over 8 million households to address chronic food insecurity and climate shocks. Integrated into the Climate Resilient Green Economy (CRGE) strategy, the program's fifth phase (Phase V), initiated in November 2020 via the Strengthen Ethiopia’s Adaptive Safety Net Project (SEASN), is supported by a diverse funding pool including the World Bank, USAID, UK FCDO, and the Government of Ethiopia. The program utilizes public works, such as building terraced hill slopes, to enhance water retention and climate adaptation.

The Seychelles implemented a debt for climate (DFC) swap in 2017, where The Nature Conservancy acquired external debt at a discount and raised USD 5 million in donor funding to establish the Seychelles Conservation and Climate Adaptation Trust (SeyCCAT). This trust manages the conservation of 13 Marine Protected Areas covering over 85% of the country's coral reefs and shallow waters. Since 2017, SeyCCAT has provided over USD 1.5 million in grants for 33 projects, with significant funding directed toward women, youth, and small-scale artisanal fisheries. The document further details the structural requirements for DFC swaps, emphasizing the need for autonomous funds, high-level political leadership, and the suitability of Middle Income Countries (MICs) that are not part of the Debt Suspension Servicing Initiative (DSSI).

The Social Success Note (SSN) is a 5-year, USD 500,000 working capital loan provided by the UBS Optimus Foundation to the NGO Impact Water to install water purification systems in Ugandan schools. The model utilizes a repayment structure where schools use fuel savings from not boiling water to pay back interest-free loans. The instrument incorporates outcome-based payments from the Rockefeller Foundation and monitoring by Yunus Social Business, aiming to provide 1.4 million children with clean water. While currently implemented in Uganda, Nigeria, and Kenya, the document suggests this concessional instrument is suited for countries with low sovereign credit ratings and limited capital markets.

CRAFT is a commercial investment vehicle targeting SMEs with proven climate resilience technologies in both developed and developing countries. It identifies market segments totaling over USD 130 billion in spending and targets investors ranging from development finance institutions to institutional investors. The fund focuses on countries with high climate vulnerability and low investment risk.

The Abu Rawash Wastewater Treatment Plant project, costing USD 390 million, is funded through a combination of Egyptian government public budget (USD 237 million) and concessional debt from development finance institutions (USD 150 million from AfDB and AGTF). The project aims to enhance adaptive capacity and water supply through infrastructure expansion and institutional support. The document highlights that accessing such concessional finance requires robust climate data, strong sovereign credit ratings, and a supportive policy environment, noting that Egypt is one of six African countries receiving the majority of DFI water adaptation finance.