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The document examines the role of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in enhancing climate resilience within agricultural value chains, using a case study of Equator Seeds in northern Uganda. It argues that small businesses can reduce climate vulnerability for suppliers and clients by providing climate-resilient seed varieties, complementary training services, and flexible financial arrangements. The analysis identifies key investment priorities for seed companies, including improving informed decision-making for farmers, raising awareness of improved seed varieties, and strengthening quality control systems to combat counterfeit seeds. It concludes with recommendations for practitioners and researchers to improve the enabling environment, enhance MSME capacity to use climate information, and facilitate access to climate finance.

The report identifies systemic failures in African land administration, including the fact that only about 10 percent of land is legally documented. It argues that securing tenure through a combination of community land registration in land-abundant areas and individual titling in land-constrained areas is essential for investment. The text highlights the need to integrate customary tenure into statutory law and eliminate market restrictions to improve access for women, youth, and the land-poor, while warning against 'land grabs' resulting from weak governance.

The document examines the integration of women into the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), highlighting a disconnect between constitutional mandates for 30% female representation and the actual experience of female soldiers. While Kenya has established a National Action Plan for UNSCR 1325 and seen the appointment of its first female brigadier, women remain underrepresented in leadership and are frequently excluded from combat roles due to patriarchal societal norms and a masculinist institutional culture. The report argues that 'gender-neutral' policies often fail to address substantive inequalities, leading to career stagnation and the persistence of sexual harassment within the military.

The report argues that President Yoweri Museveni uses Uganda's role as a regional security provider to deflect international criticism of his domestic democratic decay. It details the use of patronage and repression to maintain power, the personalized nature of Ugandan foreign policy, and the strategic use of the Uganda People’s Defence Force (UPDF) in Somalia, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The paper finds that climate actions across examined INDCs align with 154 of the 169 SDG targets, demonstrating significant potential for mutual benefits between climate and development agendas. While global alignment is high, the authors note that few countries explicitly referenced SDGs in their INDCs, often due to separate institutional oversight between environment and development ministries. Case studies of Colombia and Uganda show high goal-level alignment, though target-level alignment varies based on national priorities. The document advocates for a 'whole-of-government' approach to maximize resources and avoid implementation silos.

The East African Community (EAC) took a lead role in managing the 2015 Burundi crisis, but its efforts were largely unsuccessful due to internal divisions among member states and a lack of binding implementation mechanisms. While the EAC initially attempted preventive diplomacy through a 'Delegation of the Wise', subsequent summits and facilitation efforts by leaders like Yoweri Museveni and Benjamin Mkapa failed to prevent violence or secure an inclusive political dialogue. The report highlights how geopolitical tensions between Rwanda and Tanzania further undermined regional cohesion, ultimately allowing the Burundian government to resist international pressure and proceed with contested elections.

The document examines youth radicalisation in Africa as a complex phenomenon driven by a combination of 'push' and 'pull' factors. It argues that while religious ideology is often used as a justification, the actual drivers are frequently rooted in political repression, systemic corruption, socio-economic exclusion, and weakened family structures. The paper emphasizes that responses must be nuanced and evidence-based, moving beyond a 'one size fits all' approach to address specific local and structural vulnerabilities.

The document examines the intersection of financial services and climate risk management (CRM) in Uganda's rice value chains. It focuses on the role of the Centenary Bank in Eastern Uganda, exploring how financial service providers can enable CRM for value chain actors and proposing a framework of core functions for such management. The text aims to provide practical options and recommended actions for researchers and practitioners to enhance climate resilience and food security in developing countries.

The document examines the intersection of agricultural finance and climate risk management (CRM) through a case study of Centenary Bank's operations in Eastern Uganda. It highlights how climate hazards like floods and droughts disrupt the entire rice value chain, increasing loan default rates for banks while threatening farmer livelihoods. The research identifies that while existing savings and credit services provide some buffers and allow for income diversification, there is a need for more tailored products, such as preferential interest rates for CRM strategies and improved climate information services, to enhance resilience for both value chain actors and financial providers.

The document outlines a framework for climate risk management (CRM) within agricultural value chains, specifically drawing on research regarding the rice sector in Uganda. It emphasizes the necessity of identifying core CRM functions and the role of service providers—such as domestic seed companies providing climate-resilient varieties and financial institutions like Centenary Bank—in protecting investments and enhancing the resilience of actors throughout the value chain against climate hazards.

The document analyzes the 2012 and 2013 riots in Mtwara, Tanzania, arguing that violent mobilization was fueled by 'dashed expectations' and perceptions of unfair treatment by the government. While the Mtwara and Lindi regions have been objectively marginalized since independence, the study finds that the feeling of being 'robbed' and the decision to pipe gas to Dar es Salaam were primary drivers of unrest. The authors suggest that providing basic public goods and realistic information via local radio can mitigate conflict risks in other emerging petro-states in Africa.

The document assesses the adoption and effectiveness of youth policies across Africa, highlighting a lag in adoption compared to global trends. It identifies critical failures in data collection, policy design, and state implementation capacity, while noting successes in creating youth representative bodies. The author argues that for youth policies to succeed, they must be evidence-based, realistic regarding state capacity, and supported by partnerships with non-state actors.

The document examines the systemic marginalisation of African communities affected by mining, highlighting the gap between official policy and the reality of environmental degradation, forced relocation, and health hazards. It details specific tools for empowerment, such as community protocols in Kenya and Zimbabwe, paralegal interventions in Sierra Leone, and strategic litigation regarding silicosis in South Africa. The text emphasizes the disproportionate burden on women and the necessity of moving beyond narrow legal definitions of 'indigenous peoples' to protect all customary landholders through the principle of Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC).

This research paper analyzes the state of constitutionalism and civil liberties across Africa by examining African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Country Review Reports for 12 countries. It categorizes these nations based on Freedom House rankings and identifies systemic challenges to freedom, including executive dominance and securitization.

The report finds that global geothermal operating capacity reached 13.3 GW across 24 countries by January 2016, with a forecast to reach 18.4 GW by 2021. While international growth is supported by COP21 commitments and the Global Geothermal Alliance's goal of 65 GW by 2030, the U.S. market has nearly stalled at 3.7 GW of nameplate capacity due to cheap natural gas and unbalanced tax incentives. The report highlights that only 6-7% of global geothermal potential has been tapped and emphasizes the need for increased public financing to drive private investment in developing nations.

The report examines the relationship between human migration and ecosystem health in the Great Lakes Region of East and Central Africa, specifically focusing on the Bale Mountains in Ethiopia, the Misotshi–Kabogo ecosystem in the DRC, and the Lake Albert ecosystem in Uganda. It highlights how migration drives land conversion and resource overexploitation, particularly in the Bale Mountains, and introduces a toolkit designed to help practitioners implement migration-sensitive conservation interventions.

The document outlines 'Stage 3' of the Impact-Oriented Measurement (IOM) system, focusing on 'Step 7: Developing a credible narrative'. It advocates for the use of contribution analysis—rather than strict attribution—to demonstrate how FSD interventions lead to systemic changes in financial markets. The process involves triangulating bottom-up monitoring (e.g., project results chains) with top-down evidence (e.g., national household surveys and landscape studies) to convince a 'sceptical observer' of the programme's impact. It also provides methodologies for aggregating quantifiable results and conducting Value for Money (VfM) assessments by monetizing sectoral benefits, such as reduced depositor losses in the SACCO sector in Kenya.

The document provides a framework for FSD programmes to move beyond basic accountability indicators in logframes toward a system that measures systemic market change. It recommends integrating IOM into strategy development, investment decisions, and annual reviews, while advocating for a collaborative partnership with an independent learning partner to balance rigour with operational learning.

The document provides a framework for FSD programmes to set up an Impact-Oriented Measurement (IOM) system. It details a two-step process for 'Stage 1: Clarity of Purpose', which involves ensuring the programme's Theory of Change (ToC) is evaluable and developing specific impact measurement questions. The guide emphasizes the importance of 'nesting' project-level results chains within thematic and overall programme ToCs to capture systemic change and avoid overstating causal contributions. It also introduces 'top-down' and 'bottom-up' approaches to measuring impact, ranging from high-level economic growth to direct intervention effects.

The document outlines a methodology for FSD programmes to move beyond traditional project-level monitoring toward an Impact-Oriented Measurement (IOM) system. It emphasizes the need to bridge the evidence gap between direct project outputs and long-term market changes by tracking intermediate progress indicators, systemic changes (such as adoption, scaling, and replication), and top-down sector trends. The guide advocates for a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative data from sources like FinScope with qualitative narrative reporting to capture complex market dynamics and resilience.