Driving climate impact through frontier technologies in the global south

30 June 2023. Driving climate impact through frontier technologies in the global south - 

Side event London Climate Action Week 2023 (24/06-2/07)

Research shows that mobile and digital technologies can help vulnerable communities in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) build resilience to climate change. The GSMA’s Mobile for Development programme is uniquely positioned at the intersection of the mobile ecosystem and the development sector, advancing the use of mobile technology, connected devices and other digital tools so they can make a positive difference to the planet and millions of lives.

This interactive session marks the launch of the GSMA ClimateTech programme’s new report 

GSMA (2023) Emerging Trends in Climate Tech Innovations # 18 p.

In February 2021, the ClimateTech programme published The Role of Digital and Mobile-Enabled Solutions in Addressing Climate Change. This report discussed seven areas in which digital technologies can be used to combat climate change: clean energy and energy efficiency: transport, mobility and logistics; natural resource management and forestry; agriculture; managing water solutions; waste management and circular economy solutions; and disaster preparedness and response. It also explores the use of mobile and digital solutions for climate finance, and the application of frontier technologies. 

On 22 November 2022 at COP27, the GSMA, together with FCDO and Sida, announced the 12 organisations that had been awarded a grant under the GSMA Innovation Fund for Climate Resilience and Adaptation. The GSMA Innovation Fund for Climate Resilience and Adaptation received a total of 524 applications. March 2023 GSMA launched a second round: The Innovation Fund forClimate Resilience and Adaptation 2.0.

• Agricultural solutions dominated the pool of applications, with 46% of projects focusing on this sector. This highlights a growing awareness of the linkages and dependencies between agriculture and climate change. 
• Mobile apps are the most commonly used technology feature.
• More than half of the applicants had more than one business model. For example, one for direct-to-consumers and another for businesses. It would be valuable to create more evidence on successful business models to demonstrate how start-ups and larger institutions can work in partnership effectively. 

12 organisations

1. Aquarech (Kenya): Improving fish farmers’ productivity, enabling market access and creating an inclusive aquaculture value chain through the use of mobile technology and IoT sensors.
2. BaKhabar Kissan (BKK) (Pakistan) Strengthening agricultural productivity and planning for climate-vulnerable farming communities through a network of new weather stations to provide hyperlocal weather information, as well as enabling access to agricultural expertise through digital platforms
3. BENAA (Egypt) Supporting water resource management using IoT to help convert wastewater into irrigation water for small farms in rural Egypt.
4. CoAmana (Nigeria) Improving agricultural productivity and helping farmers manage financial risks related to drought in Nigeria, through a digital marketplace for farmers to access markets, purchase drought-resistant seeds and access information on best practices and financial services
5. Crop2Cash (Nigeria) Supporting farmers facing drought conditions in Nigeria to adapt their farming practices through climate-smart farming content and manage financial risks through their digital marketplace, connecting farmers to high-yield, drought-resistant maize seeds via USSD.
6. Dayaxa Frankincense Export Company (DFEC) (Somaliland) Creating a regenerative model for positive social, ecological and economic change by working with farmers in Somaliland to harvest sustainable produce, achieve fair pricing and improve day-to-day living standards for farmer communities.seeds and access information on best practices and financial services.
7. GeoKrishi (Nepal) Helping smallholder farmers in Nepal adapt to climate stressors and adopt climate-smart agricultural practices through digital learning content and advisory services. 
8. Hello Tractor (Nigeria) Improving planning and preparedness for farming communities facing unpredictable rainfall patterns in Nigeria, by using weather and historic tractor service demand data to model and optimise tractor service provision.
9. J-Palm (Liberia) Transforming the sustainability of wild palm oil through access to ecological information for local harvesters, as well as mobile blockchain technology for improved traceability
10. Komunidad (Philippines) Upgrading communities’ capacity to respond to disasters in the Philippines with a typhoon early warning system and weather analytics platform designed to help the local government plan and prepare for hazards more efficiently and accurately
11. Lersha (Ethiopia) A one-stop digital service for smallholder farmers that provides advisory content on climate-smart agriculture solutions, weather information and facilitates access to agri-credit and agri-insurance. 
12. Simusolar (Tanzania) Supporting fishers in securing livelihoods, adapting to weather changes and sustaining fisheries management in Lake Victoria, Tanzania, through IoTenabled productivity and activity tracking equipment

The webinar of 30/06 (recording forthcoming) discussed different ways that frontier and digital technology can be used for climate impact in LMICs. It presented new insights on emerging trends in climate technology and innovations from the latest grant funding round of GSMA and the start-ups awarded with grants by the GSMA. They shared how they are creatively using digital technology such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain to help communities anticipate and adapt to climate shocks and stressors.

• Samir Hafiz – Climate Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager, GSMA ClimateTech
• Luisa Odell – Innovation Advisor, UK Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
• Nadja Dolata, Policy Specialist Digital for Development, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
• Aya Tarek Helmy – Co-Founder, BENAA
• Mahmud Johnson, Founder, J-Palm
• Allister Ayque – Co-Founder, Komunidad
• Leila Guici – Insights and Advocacy Manager – Climate Tech, GSMA ClimateTech (moderator)

Innovative start-ups presented in this session:

1. BENAA - supporting water resource management using the Internet of Things to help convert wastewater into irrigation water for small farms in rural Egypt.
2. J-Palm - transforming the sustainability of wild palm oil through access to ecological information for local harvesters, as well as mobile blockchain technology for improved traceability in Liberia.
3. Komunidad - upgrading local government capacity to prepare for hazards more efficiently and accurately in the Philippines with a typhoon early warning system and weather analytics platform.

Digitally Enabled Climate Finance

This flagship report by the GSMA ClimateTech programme provides emerging insights on the role of mobile and digital technology in accessing and delivering climate finance in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

The Liberia Agribusiness Incubator

25 April 2023. Embracing New Partnerships that Advance Locally Led Development through Private Sector Engagement

• In Liberia, USAID and the Africa Trade and Investment (ATI) Program created the Liberia Agribusiness Incubator to support local job creation, trade and investment. To increase locally led development, USAID/ATI made an intentional effort to reach rural communities to help identify barriers for participation and ways to overcome those barriers. A subsequent outreach campaign, including road shows, radio jingles and media messages, was designed and tailored to local community needs, thus increasing local engagement in the program.
• In Guatemala, the Innovative Solutions for Agricultural Value Chains Project is implemented by a local entity, Agropecuaria Popoyán, S.A. The objective of the project is to reduce poverty and chronic malnutrition in Guatemala’s Western Highlands by providing new economic opportunities that improve the livelihoods and resilience for small-scale farmers and their families to reduce irregular migration.

Identifying investment priorities to improve rice production in Liberia

9 June 2022. The EUR 4 million agreement between the Liberian government and European Investment Bank (EIB) will prepare detailed feasibility studies to assess the potential and challenges of the rice value chain in Liberia and support project implementation.

The EIB and Liberian partners can then design and structure an investment program that is expected to be launched next year.

The feasibility studies are being financed by a grant from the European Development Fund under the Africa Investment Platform.

Reducing Liberia's dependency on imported rice and global price shocks

The new EIB-backed rice-value chain development program intends to boost rice production in the country by reducing Liberia's dependency on rice imports to improve food and nutrition security and create local jobs in rice production, storage and distribution.

The overall investment program is expected to support the entire rice value chain improving rice production, building irrigation, upgrading food laboratories, enhancing warehousing and logistics.

Liberia: EU, AfricaRice Director General Tour Desira Project Site

14 December 2020. The Director-General of the Africa Rice Center (AfricaRice), Harold Roy-Macauley has completed a visit at the European Union's funded integrated rice and fish farming project under the Development of Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA) at the Central Agriculture Research Institute (CARI) in Suakoko, Bong County.

Mr. Roy-Macauley, who was recently on a four-day visit to Liberia from the Center's headquarters in Abidjan, Cote D'Ivoire, took stock of progress that is being made and lauded the technicians for the high level of work that has been done thus far.

The DG's visit was followed by a high profile delegation from the European Union office in Liberia that also toured the field to ascertain how their funds are being utilized.

Both delegations were led on their respective tours by AfricaRice Country Representative, Dr. Innousa Akintayo and experts who are working on the project. He toured the fields of the project, which seeks to develop integrated, climate-smart rice-fish production systems sustainably and balance interventions on participatory research on rice-fish farming, development of successful extension service delivery systems.

Dr. Roy-Macualey, the members of the EU delegation, was ferried to the "floating cage," an innovative technological fish pond that that has the capacity to host 40,000 fish in a safe, secure, and eco-friendly environment on a lake at the CARI center. A facially impressed Dr. Macaulay bombarded experts with questions as he tried to get a better understanding of the initiative and how it would impact the Liberian society, especially in the area of nutrition and food security.

Locally fabricated machines as well as locally made feeds for the fishes were also showcased during the tour.

Bangladeshi agro-based organization to fight food security in Liberia

25 December 2017. Monrovia - Brac-Liberia, a Bangladeshi agro-based organization operating in Liberia has received a 1.5 Million Euros project gear toward addressing food and nutrition security to help end hunger in Liberia.

The money was given to Brac by the European Union to fight or address food security including hunger and nutrition in Liberia.

The project, which is expected to commence early next year, will be implemented in six counties: Grand Cape Mount, Bomi, Grand Bassa, Montserrado, Margibi and Bong Counties.

Brac organised a workshop that seeked to sensitize farmers and stakeholders in the country’s agricultural sector on food and nutrition security across the six selected Counties. Before this project ends in 2018, 390 most vulnerable household groups will be engaged in cash for work,1625 poor households will receive training in poultry and livestock rearing, and the capacity of 5200 smallholder farmers will be built on climate smart agriculture technologies