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The paper identifies parametric insurance as a critical tool for strengthening the financial resilience of cities in EMDEs, where less than 10% of climate-related losses are currently insured. It highlights a structural collaboration gap between municipalities and insurers, noting that only 5 of 16 mapped programs engage directly with municipal governments. To address this, the authors propose three priority actions: supporting affordable premiums through national and international funding, strengthening municipal capacity for risk-layering, and improving legal and regulatory enabling environments. The document argues that parametric insurance is a particularly effective entry point due to its ability to provide rapid liquidity and simpler product structures compared to traditional indemnity insurance.

The report finds that Basrah City's sanitation and waste systems suffer from critical infrastructure gaps, with minimal resource recovery despite high potential. While over 90% of solid waste is recyclable or compostable, most is landfilled or dumped. The entrepreneurial ecosystem is rated as having 'medium maturity' nationally but remains underdeveloped in Basrah, particularly regarding finance and specialized support. Opportunities for circularity exist in planned infrastructure upgrades, such as the Hamdan Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Al-Nakheila waste complex, and in the emerging demand for treated wastewater in agriculture.

The South African EV ecosystem is currently nascent and dominated by private sector activity, with limited local commercial production of battery cells and a reliance on imported components. While the country possesses significant reserves of battery minerals like manganese, it lacks extensive beneficiation capacity. The automotive sector, a major GDP contributor, is pivoting toward EVs to maintain competitiveness in export markets that are phasing out internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Key barriers to adoption include high upfront costs, inadequate charging infrastructure, and a chronic shortage of technical skills. The report recommends that the City of Cape Town intervene through targeted incentives, procurement of EV fleets, and the development of charging infrastructure and skills training to stimulate a viable local value chain.

The report uses service design and customer journey mapping to analyze the mango value chain in Kenya, specifically focusing on women farmers in Tana River and Meru Counties. It identifies that while there is interest in technologies like cold storage and pulping machines to bypass brokers, adoption is hindered by high costs, lack of market access, and a prevailing farming strategy that prioritizes quantity over quality. The study concludes that technology alone is insufficient and must be accompanied by holistic support in business modeling, financing, and market creation.

The report analyzes the FinTech ecosystem in East Africa, identifying key enablers such as high mobile penetration and gaps in traditional financial services. It details the value propositions of FinTechs in lending, payments, insurance, and investment management, while assessing the regional investment landscape. The document highlights a strong concentration of activity in Kenya and a significant reliance on foreign venture capital, particularly from the US and Europe. It also examines the role of partnerships between mobile network operators (MNOs) and banks, and identifies critical gaps in support infrastructure and regulatory clarity.