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The policy brief examines the challenge of youth unemployment in Africa, noting that millions of young people, including tertiary graduates, struggle to enter the labor market. It evaluates various school-to-work transition initiatives, such as Ghana's National Service Scheme and NABCO, and identifies a critical trade-off between the scale of a program and the quality of its training. The author argues that for these programs to be successful, they must provide comprehensive skills training, ensure inclusivity, avoid political interference, and be coupled with efforts to create more high-quality jobs in collaboration with the private sector.

The Catalyst Climate Resilience Fund (CCRF) is a blended finance vehicle designed to support pre-seed climate adaptation startups in Africa. It provides an initial USD 200,000 investment per company, split between cash and venture-building support from BFA Global. The fund targets a total size of USD 40 million, utilizing a tiered capital structure with first-loss protection to attract commercial investors. Its investment thesis focuses on three verticals: fintech for resilience, sustainable livelihoods, and climate-smart essential services. The fund has already completed its first close of approximately USD 8.5 million in August 2023 and has made 10 initial pre-seed investments across several African nations.

The ASAP Ghana Gender Action Plan establishes a framework to increase the accessibility of solar PV financing for women-led households and MSMEs, build gender-responsive institutional capacity within Ecobank and government agencies, and implement crosscutting safeguards against gender-based violence.

The document outlines a strategic framework to modernize Africa's TVET systems to align with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). It identifies a critical gap between the skills of graduates and the needs of the formal sector, particularly in STEM and digital fields. To address this, the author proposes seven priorities: establishing industry-led ecosystems, centering economic transformation in employment strategies, fostering digital leadership at the government level, increasing STEM uptake, improving trainer qualifications, upgrading digital infrastructure, and ensuring curricula are informed by industry needs. The goal is to prepare Africa's working-age population, expected to reach 600 million by 2030, for decent employment in a technology-driven economy.

The research paper examines the role of the Wagner Group and other private military contractors (PMCs) in Africa, highlighting their involvement in human rights abuses, the smuggling of mineral resources to fund the Russian state, and the use of disinformation campaigns to undermine democratic processes and Western influence. It notes that PMCs provide 'plausible deniability' for states to conduct criminal warfare and argues that the African Union's failure to implement existing anti-mercenary frameworks hampers regional peace and security.

The report examines Ghana's climate adaptation landscape, highlighting the gap between national policy and community-level implementation. It identifies specific locally led adaptation (LLA) practices—such as climate-smart agriculture and nature-based coastal solutions—and argues for the devolution of finance, integration of traditional knowledge, and clearer definitions of 'local' to enhance resilience in vulnerable communities.

The document argues that while Africa's shift toward renewable energy is essential for climate goals and poverty reduction, it risks a "green resource curse" where green energy projects and mineral mining fuel conflict. It identifies three primary conflict trajectories: the establishment of projects (often involving land disputes and "green grabbing"), the mining of critical minerals (linked to weak institutions and rebel financing), and energy production (related to grid access and geopolitical shifts). While most conflicts are local and non-violent, the authors warn of potential for large-scale civil unrest and geopolitical tensions as the global energy balance shifts away from fossil fuels.

The author contends that Africa can leverage the transition to a circular garment industry to drive economic growth and industrial upgrading. Key opportunities include producing sustainable cotton and alternative fibres, greening manufacturing processes to gain a competitive advantage, and repurposing the high volume of second-hand clothing imports into new products and recycled yarns. The author emphasizes that without a proactive industrial policy or circular economy roadmap, African nations risk missing these opportunities and failing to meet Sustainable Development Goals 9 and 12, particularly as the European Union introduces stricter eco-design regulations.

The document establishes a programmatic gender approach for the &Green Fund, which aims to delink deforestation from commodity supply chains (livestock, palm oil, soy, rubber, cocoa, and forestry). It defines a two-tracked investment strategy—gender-sensitive and gender-transformative—integrated into the fund's due diligence and monitoring processes. The report provides detailed gender and socioeconomic baselines for 11 countries, highlighting systemic barriers such as limited land tenure for women, unpaid care burdens, and the prevalence of sexual exploitation, abuse, and sexual harassment (SEAH) in agribusiness. It recommends using Environmental and Social Action Plans (ESAPs) as binding loan covenants to ensure equitable benefits and the removal of gender barriers in the target landscapes.

The report examines the G7 Climate Club, an intergovernmental forum aimed at achieving global net-zero emissions by mid-century. While acknowledging its goals, the author argues that the Club's structure—particularly its focus on rapid decarbonisation and potential trade restrictions—could undermine African development. Key concerns include the economic reliance of African nations on hydrocarbon exports, the high cost of transitioning to low-carbon industrial processes, and the risk of trade protectionism through mechanisms like the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The report highlights a history of unfulfilled G7 financial pledges to Africa and recommends a co-design approach that prioritises technology transfer, climate justice, and financial support over strict carbon accounting and trade sanctions.

The document examines the potential for EU and UK deforestation regulations to drive legislative reform in Côte d'Ivoire's cocoa sector. While the EUDR's benchmarking and traceability requirements offer incentives for better forest governance and transparency, the report warns of risks to smallholder farmers, including potential exclusion from markets due to compliance costs and the persistence of child labour driven by poverty.

The document examines the potential for the EUDR and UK Environment Act to act as levers for change in Ghana's cocoa industry. It highlights that while these regulations impose strict deforestation-free and legality requirements, they offer Ghana opportunities to improve forest governance, establish a centralised traceability system, and better regulate child labour. However, the author warns of risks to smallholder farmers, who may face increased compliance costs or exclusion from the EU market, and emphasizes the need for international partnerships to support a just transition.

The document examines national investment laws as versatile policy instruments, tracing their shift from national development tools (1950-1979) to mechanisms for incorporating international treaty standards (1980-2010). It identifies seven primary functions of contemporary investment laws: regulating admission, administering incentives, facilitating investment, providing legal protection, managing disputes, specifying investor obligations, and supervising investments. The report argues against a 'one-size-fits-all' model, suggesting instead that laws be designed based on a country's specific policy objectives and regulatory capacity. It provides a detailed framework for policymakers to evaluate existing laws and design new ones, emphasizing the need to reduce legal risks associated with investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) and inefficient tax incentives.

The report assesses the impact of EU migration interventions in the Sahel, specifically in Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso. It finds that the EU's focus on deterring northbound migration to Europe through border reinforcement and funding-based policies has prioritised security over human protection, undermined regional free movement, and ignored a massive internal displacement crisis. The author recommends a shift toward area-based assistance and a strategic recalibration that prioritises the needs of displaced persons over the goal of curbing irregular arrivals in Europe.

The policy brief identifies three primary drivers of food insecurity in Africa: limits to agricultural land, limits to agricultural productivity, and climate change effects. It highlights a steady decline in arable land per capita from 0.31 in 1990 to 0.2 in 2020, alongside severe productivity gaps where African farmers use only 8kg of fertiliser per hectare compared to 140kg in Asia and Latin America. The document calls on the G20 to provide financial and technical support for soil mapping, small-scale irrigation, the Africa Fertilizer Financing Mechanism, and the commercialisation of quality seeds to help the continent meet UN Sustainable Development Goals and AU Agenda 2063 targets.

The report identifies Project GAIA as a Category I-1 private sector programme operating across multiple countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. It confirms that an Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS), which includes frameworks for land acquisition, resettlement, indigenous peoples, and biodiversity management, was disclosed on June 23, 2023, in English and several local languages.

The report examines the current state of mining taxation and proposes ten innovative policy ideas to increase government revenue. It highlights the shift toward critical minerals for the energy transition and the risks posed by automation and profit shifting. The proposed ideas include minimum profit sharing, production sharing contracts, state equity, state-owned enterprises, variable royalties, the 'Sixth Method' for transfer pricing, carbon pricing, development taxes for communities, competitive bidding for licenses, and remote monitoring for quarries. It also provides a framework for evaluating these reforms and discusses the legal challenges associated with fiscal stabilization clauses and international investment treaties.

The document argues that traditional mining tax regimes (corporate income tax and royalties) are often insufficient or vulnerable to profit shifting. It proposes ten alternatives, including variable royalties, production sharing contracts, and state equity participation, while addressing the impact of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the need for better production monitoring through remote sensing technology.

The guide examines the current state of mining taxation, highlighting challenges such as base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), and proposes ten innovative policy ideas to improve revenue mobilization. These include minimum profit shares, production sharing contracts, variable royalties, and the 'Sixth Method' for transfer pricing. It also addresses the impact of the EU's Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and suggests the implementation of domestic carbon pricing and remote monitoring technologies for industrial minerals. The document emphasizes the need for transparent governance, professional board management for state-owned enterprises, and a balanced approach to fiscal stability clauses to ensure sustainable development.

The "Hardest-to-Reach" (H2R) programme aims to provide clean, climate-resilient off-grid solar (OGS) energy to 72.4 million people across 16 sub-Saharan African countries. The initiative utilizes a two-pronged financing approach: a $50 million grant-funded Market Support Facility (MSF) to support market entry and capacity building for new players, and a $200 million blended finance Market Expansion Facility (MEF) providing impact-linked loans to scale existing OGS companies. The programme targets a mitigation outcome of 5.1 million tCO2eq avoided and an adaptation outcome of 54.3 million first-time energy access beneficiaries. It emphasizes gender inclusivity, targeting 32% female customers and creating approximately 13,922 green jobs, including 4,641 for women.