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The document examines the tension between energy security and green growth in fossil-fuel-endowed middle-income countries, noting that domestic fossil resource reliance often overrides climate ambitions.

The study finds a positive correlation between education and protest activity across 42 African countries, suggesting that education increases both the motivation to challenge authoritarian regimes and the organizational capacity to stage protests.

The document discusses the transition of the African Union Commission (AUC) leadership to Moussa Faki Mahamat. It emphasizes that the AU cannot return to 'business as usual' due to a volatile global political landscape and the urgent need for financial autonomy. A key focus is the implementation of a 0.2% levy on African imports to reduce reliance on international donors, aiming to provide $1.2 billion in overall revenue in 2017 and ensure peace operations are 25% self-funded. The text also highlights the necessity of institutional reforms proposed by President Paul Kagame and the need for the AU to address root causes of conflict and migration in countries such as Libya, Somalia, and Sudan.

The paper examines how insurance can mitigate high resource and drilling risks to attract private sector investment in geothermal energy, specifically focusing on capacity-building efforts in Kenya and Ethiopia.

Ethiopia is positioned as a climate leader, being the first Least Developed Country to submit an Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC). The government aims to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions from 150 Mt CO2eq in 2010 to 145 Mt CO2eq by 2030. To support these goals, CDKN has assisted the Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation (MoFEC) in achieving accreditation as a National Implementing Entity for the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund in March 2016. Infrastructure investments include a 34-km light rail transit in Addis Ababa and a 750-km railway to Djibouti. Additionally, CDKN is supporting the development of geothermal risk insurance and research into greening the industrial sector, specifically leather, garments, and cement.

The document highlights 2016 as a pivotal year for green bonds, noting the emergence of sovereign green bonds in Poland and France and the increasing use of these instruments to fund Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). It argues that a green debt market of at least $1 trillion per year is necessary by 2020 to meet low-carbon infrastructure needs. Key policy tools identified include credit enhancement, tax incentives, and the establishment of official national guidelines, with specific examples of initiatives in China, India, Brazil, and Mexico.

The report examines the distinct challenges of financial market development in fragility-affected states in Africa (FASA), where financial exclusion is significantly higher than in non-fragile sub-Saharan African countries. It advocates for a 'market systems' or 'M4P' approach based on facilitation and adaptive management rather than direct implementation. Key priorities identified include the development of functional identification solutions, risk-based tiered KYC regulations, and the scaling of promising practices such as Islamic finance, refugee/IDP finance, and impact investing. The document emphasizes that systemic change in these volatile contexts requires long-term commitment, a high tolerance for risk, and a deep understanding of local political economy and conflict dynamics.

The document presents findings from a study of 50 peacebuilders in northern Nigeria, identifying religious and political factors as the primary drivers of Boko Haram recruitment. It argues that while military action is seen as having little impact on recruitment, a sustainable solution requires a combination of hard security and soft measures, including negotiation, amnesty, and national reconciliation.

The document outlines the evolution of China-Africa relations from early diplomatic ties to a complex modern partnership. It highlights the role of FOCAC as a primary vehicle for cooperation, the shift toward a 'New Normal' characterized by slowing economic growth and commodity price drops, and China's increasing involvement in African peace and security, marking a departure from its traditional 'non-interference' policy.

The document examines the global push for beneficial ownership transparency to combat illicit financial flows, money laundering, and corruption. It focuses on the G20 High-Level Principles and the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) guidelines, analyzing how these standards are applied across diverse institutional contexts. A significant portion of the paper is dedicated to South Africa's efforts to align its domestic laws, such as the FIC Amendment Bill, with these global norms. It also provides a comparative analysis of implementation in G20 countries (including the UK, US, China, and Russia) and African nations (Nigeria and Ghana), highlighting common obstacles such as weak institutional capacity, political resistance, and the misuse of shell companies and trusts.

The document explores the potential for the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) to monitor Agenda 2063 and the SDGs, noting strong normative and thematic alignment. However, it identifies critical barriers, including administrative weaknesses, lack of funding, and slow review cycles, which currently render the APRM incapable of the extensive monitoring required. The authors suggest that for the APRM to succeed, it must undergo substantial reform, improve the frequency of its reviews, and enhance its data-gathering capabilities through ICT and partnerships.

The document examines the detrimental impact of invasive plant species on Africa's rangelands and croplands, noting that they can reduce the productivity of major grain foods like maize by up to 45%. It highlights a gap in current policy frameworks, such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals and AU Commission strategies, which lack coherent protocols for managing these species. The author proposes using Earth Observation (EO) technology—specifically free datasets like Sentinel-2—to create spatial occurrence maps that identify priority zones and propagation corridors. The brief recommends that international bodies like the CBD, AfriGEOSS, and UN-SPIDER facilitate case studies and policy amendments to incorporate EO data into land management and food security strategies.

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 document outlines a strategic process for landscape restoration leaders to transition from a reliance on public finance to attracting private investment. It details four essential steps: identifying and engaging the right investors based on risk tolerance and growth stage; developing a comprehensive business plan focusing on the business model, management, finance, and deal structure; establishing a legal investable entity to channel funds; and tracking financial and operating performance to provide proof of concept. The guide emphasizes that private investors, except for impact investors, prioritize financial returns over environmental benefits and compare restoration ventures against opportunities in other industries.

The document details the experience of Edward Ndolo, a farmer in Kitui, Kenya, who adopted road water harvesting in 1990 to divert road runoff to his 3-acre farm. Despite high labor costs—such as 20,000 Kenyan Shillings for a 50-meter channel—and the physical effort required, the technique has allowed him to maintain green crops and sell surplus beans, maize, and fruits to neighbors. Ndolo observes that climate change has shifted rainfall patterns, noting that in 2016, the long rainy season began late on November 1st. He advocates for sensitization and the use of simple water-optimizing techniques to build resilience against arid conditions.

The case study highlights the growth of Kenya's restoration economy through examples like GreenPot Enterprises and Honey Care Africa. It demonstrates that restoring degraded landscapes—using bamboo for soil stabilization or apiaries for pollination—can generate significant revenue and improve farmer incomes. While Kenya's strong GDP growth and government commitment to restore 5.1 million hectares by 2030 provide a supportive environment, the report identifies a critical gap in growth capital, specifically investments in the $3-10 million range needed for scaling.

The African Union (AU) has established several legal frameworks to combat terrorism, including the 1999 Algiers Convention and the 2004 Protocol, but implementation is stalled by low ratification rates among member states. Key countries facing terrorism, such as Nigeria and Somalia, have not ratified the 2004 Protocol. The AU's efforts are further undermined by a lack of monitoring systems, severe funding shortages—with member states contributing only 40% of the 2016 budget—and a tendency for international powers like the US and France to bypass the AU in favor of direct bilateral operations with individual states.

The Lake Turkana Wind Power Project (LTWP) is a 310 MW wind farm in Kenya's Marsabit West County designed to increase national electricity supply by 15–20% and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 740,000 tCO2eq annually. Costing €623 million, it represents Kenya's largest single private investment and aims to stabilize energy prices by providing power at approximately one-third the cost of fossil fuel generation. The project has created over 2,000 local jobs and includes corporate social responsibility programs through the Winds of Change foundation to improve local education, health, and water access. Despite these benefits, the project has faced challenges including funding withdrawals by the World Bank and local tensions regarding land rights and equitable job distribution.

The report finds that East Africa is the largest regional crowdfunding market in Africa, though it is dominated by non-financial return models (donation and reward) and lacks bespoke regulation. While loan and equity-based models dominate globally, they are in embryonic stages in East Africa. The authors recommend against immediate bespoke regulation to avoid stifling growth, instead proposing a phased approach involving sector mapping, the creation of a regulatory sandbox ('RegLab'), and government-backed co-investment and currency hedge funds.

The report examines how foreign agricultural investments interact with gender inequalities across five dimensions: land rights, productive resources, household labour, employment, and decision making. It compares five Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) and five Responsible Investment Frameworks, finding that while VSS focus more on employment conditions, responsible investment frameworks are stronger on land rights. Evidence suggests that VSS often fail to improve women's land ownership and can inadvertently increase women's unpaid labour burdens. The author recommends that investors and host governments adopt explicit gender strategies, ensure women's participation in negotiations, and monitor gender-disaggregated data to prevent the reproduction of local gender inequalities.