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The document analyzes the macadamia nut industry in Southern Africa, focusing on the disparity between the advanced sector in South Africa and the emerging industries in Malawi and Mozambique. It highlights the barriers smallholder farmers face, such as high entry costs, lack of technical support, and poor infrastructure. While South Africa is a global leader in production, the report argues that a regional value chain is hindered by a lack of cooperation, differing national capacities, and a heavy reliance on exporting nut-in-shell (NIS) to China. It recommends establishing regional industry bodies, improving domestic processing capabilities, and enhancing technical support for smallholders to move beyond raw material exports.

The policy brief advocates for the adoption of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) to enhance climate resilience in coastal and island regions. It highlights the protective value of mangroves and coral reefs, notes their current underrepresentation in national climate strategies, and suggests using the 2020 NDC revision cycle to mainstream these nature-based solutions. The author emphasizes the need for quantitative data to build a business case for private investment and highlights innovative financing models like debt-for-nature swaps.

The report assesses three multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs)—the APRM, OGP, and EITI—finding that while they provide platforms for transparency and civil society engagement, their ability to drive fundamental governance transformation is limited by varying levels of political will, uneven implementation, and challenges in measuring direct impact.

The document highlights the persistent gender gap in financial inclusion in sub-Saharan Africa, where less than 30% of women hold financial institution accounts. It presents Savings Groups—member-owned collectives of 15-25 individuals—as a sustainable strategy to provide low-income women with access to savings, credit, and insurance. The FSD Network has invested over $28 million in these groups since 2008 across several African nations to bridge the gap between marginalized populations and formal financial services.

The research examines the fragmented nature of migration regulation across three African regional economic communities (RECs)—SADC, EAC, and Comesa—and their integration into the Tripartite Free Trade Area (TFTA). While the EAC has made significant progress in ratifying and implementing protocols for the free movement of labour and persons, SADC and Comesa suffer from low ratification rates and a tendency to treat economic migration as a national security threat. The document highlights that the TFTA, which covers 26 states with a combined GDP of $1.2 trillion, requires the removal of migration barriers to achieve its market integration goals. Case studies of Tanzania and Rwanda illustrate the tension between regional liberalisation and domestic protectionism, as well as the benefits of an economically driven migration policy. The authors argue that for the TFTA to succeed, RECs must move beyond a security-centric approach and link migration policies to economic imperatives.

The document examines Malawi's position regarding four plurilateral trade agreements: the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA), the Government Procurement Agreement (GPA), the Information Technology Agreement II (ITA-II), and the Environmental Goods Agreement (EGA). While government officials suggest that TiSA and ITA-II could boost industrialization and competitiveness, GTAP modelling indicates that overall gains from participating in these negotiations would be very small or non-existent. Malawi currently faces significant challenges, including an undiversified export base dominated by tobacco, high costs of doing business, and limited human and financial capacity within the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism to engage effectively in complex WTO negotiations.

The document advocates for 'green urban industrialisation' in Ethiopia, specifically through a corridor approach that connects urban clusters. Using the Kombolcha–Mek’ele corridor as a case study, it suggests that integrating transport, infrastructure, and resource management across administrative boundaries can prevent carbon-intensive development and maximise economic productivity. Key recommendations include identifying catalytic projects in green housing, waste, and water management, improving institutional coordination between federal and regional levels, and aligning local urban plans with national climate strategies.

The report identifies Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and East Asia as high-impact regions for clean energy investment, with a subset of eight countries offering over USD 360bn in potential by 2030. It argues that while clean energy costs are falling, private investment is hindered by off-taker, currency, and policy risks. The authors recommend shifting blended finance from covering viability gaps to providing risk-mitigation instruments like guarantees and local currency hedging, and creating liquid, tradable assets through securitization to attract institutional investors.

The document outlines a methodology for identifying high-impact clean energy markets in developing economies based on private sector attractiveness, energy access, and climate relevance. It identifies Tier 1 countries—including India, South Africa, Kenya, and Rwanda—and analyzes their specific investment barriers, such as off-taker risk in India and currency volatility in South Africa. Additionally, it provides case studies on blended finance structures, ranging from project-level interventions like the Lake Turkana Wind Farm to fund-of-funds like GEEREF, illustrating how concessional capital and guarantees are used to leverage private investment.

The African Borrowing Charter provides a framework for African states to balance public debt with the need for inclusive growth and public service delivery. It emphasizes transparency, parliamentary oversight, and the establishment of robust legal frameworks to prevent a recurrence of the debt crises seen in the 1970s-1990s. The Charter advocates for the creation of Public Debt Management Offices and the enactment of Fiscal Responsibility Acts to maintain macroeconomic stability and protect future generations from unsustainable debt burdens.

The document advocates for Community Forest Management (CFM) as a holistic approach to territorial governance that prioritizes the 'Good Living' of indigenous and peasant communities over capitalist development. It asserts that CFM is more effective at reducing deforestation than absolute protection regimes and is essential for maintaining biodiversity and climate stability. The report warns against 'commercial logging' disguised as sustainable management and rejects REDD+ and carbon markets, arguing they centralize power and commodify nature. It recommends strengthening community land tenure, investing in local capacity building, and shifting international finance away from fossil fuels toward community-led conservation.

The report advocates for Community Forest Management (MCB) as a sustainable alternative to industrial logging and top-down conservation. It links MCB to the 'Buen Vivir' philosophy, emphasizing the need for secure land tenure, social capital, and gender equity. The text critiques market-based mechanisms like REDD+ and the Payment for Environmental Services (PSA) for promoting privatization and centralizing control. It concludes with recommendations to shift funding from fossil fuel subsidies toward community-led conservation and the restoration of ancestral rights.

The report promotes community forest management (GCF) as a holistic approach to forest conservation and social justice, contrasting it with destructive industrial logging and the REDD+ mechanism. It argues that GCF, rooted in the 'bien-vivre' paradigm, effectively reduces deforestation and protects biodiversity by empowering indigenous and local communities with secure land tenure and ancestral knowledge. The document highlights the failures of carbon markets and 'sustainable forest management' labels used by corporations to mask extraction. It recommends strengthening community land rights, eliminating fossil fuel subsidies to fund adaptation, and reducing international trade in tropical hardwoods.

The document analyzes the difficulties of creating sustainable horizontal linkages in Mozambique, where a weak manufacturing base and low human capital hinder the ability of local SMEs to diversify beyond specific 'megaprojects'. While the Mozlink II program generated USD 53 million in incremental sales for SMEs, many firms became overly specialized and dependent on the Mozal smelter, failing to transfer skills to other sectors. The study highlights that supplier development programs are insufficient without a broader strategy to address systemic constraints such as lack of access to finance, low educational attainment, and a policy environment biased toward foreign investment.

The document outlines the proceedings of a three-day conference focused on the causes, mechanisms, and aftermath of state capture in South Africa. It examines the role of apartheid legacies, the influence of the private sector, the vulnerability of state-owned enterprises, and the failure of oversight institutions. The report emphasizes that state capture is a politico-economic project involving both formal and informal power, often facilitated by the politicization of the bureaucracy and the erosion of the criminal justice system. It argues for comprehensive state reform, including electoral changes, transparency in party funding, and the protection of whistleblowers, while drawing comparisons with state capture in Nigeria, Kenya, and Angola.

The report argues that SADC countries can reduce processed food trade deficits and mitigate climate change risks by shifting from national industrial policies to regional value chains (RVCs). It identifies a significant opportunity for Zambia, Tanzania, and Mozambique to replace South Africa's deep-sea soya oilcake imports with regional production. However, it notes that the sugar sector is hindered by protectionist policies and the market power of dominant firms, which keep industrial sugar prices high and stifle downstream confectionery processing. The author proposes practical interventions, including a regional transportation information system to solve 'backhaul' constraints and the harmonisation of quality standards to facilitate intra-regional trade.

The report finds that while electricity access finance in 20 high-impact countries increased to USD 30.2 billion per year in 2015-16, it remains far below the USD 52 billion needed annually for universal access by 2030. Investment is heavily skewed toward non-residential consumers and grid-connected technologies, including a doubling of fossil fuel investments to USD 8 billion. Clean cooking finance has decreased to USD 30 million per year, a fraction of the USD 4.4 billion required. Geographically, finance is concentrated in a few countries, with Sub-Saharan Africa falling further behind despite having the highest need.

The report analyzes electricity access in 20 high-deficit countries by comparing government reports, utility data, household surveys, and solar sales. It consistently finds that household consumption (wealth) is a stronger driver of access disparity than gender, although specific national patterns vary. In many cases, significant gaps exist between formal utility connection rates and household survey results, often attributed to off-grid solutions, informal connections, or self-supply methods like diesel generators.

The report argues that solar thermal technology is an ideal fit for South Africa's food and beverage industries, where up to 77% of energy use is for heating, mostly below 250°C. While the current local industry is dominated by domestic water heaters, there is a significant opportunity to scale industrial applications. The report estimates that replacing non-coal fuels with solar thermal could save 158,685 tonnes of CO2e per annum, while replacing coal could save 942,556 tonnes. Financial viability is high for replacing fuels other than coal, with potential Internal Rates of Return above 10% over 20 years. However, barriers include a lack of sustained demand, a skills gap in industrial design, and limited familiarity among financial institutions.

The document analyzes the conceptual frameworks, global and regional experiences, and existing sectoral information systems in Peru to guide the creation of a national M&E system for climate change adaptation. It highlights that while Peru has strong political commitments and sectoral data, it lacks a formally approved National Adaptation Plan and a corresponding national M&E system.