NDF’s early support for climate resilience in West Africa coastal areas catalyses EUR 200 million
Smart initial investment in West Africa leads to a more extensive financing package.
The West Africa Coastal Area Erosion and Adaptation Project (WACA, NDF C77), a recipient of EUR 500,000 in NDF support, was successfully completed in 2017. The World Bank collaborated with West African governments to prepare an ambitious regional program to address coastal management issues from a climate-resilience point of view. It is expected to help leverage funding for investments amounting to almost EUR 200 million in 2018, with the World Bank, through its IDA (International Development Association) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) expected to be among the biggest financiers. Discussions on further support and financing are ongoing with various development and climate finance institutions. The program will, furthermore, look into ways of engaging the private sector, including through the design of innovative climate finance instruments.
NDF itself has recently approved new financing amounting to EUR 13.1 million for WACA, including concessional loans to Benin and Senegal, as well as general support to the creation of a WACA platform. NDF’s financial commitment for this project was mentioned by NDF’s Managing Director Pasi Hellman during the third Africa Climate Resilient Infrastructure Summit (ACRIS III) in Marrakesh on 28 February 2018. “NDF is pleased to see that a relatively small but smart initial investment can have a significant catalytic effect - it is a good story to tell,” said Pasi Hellman. “On the other hand, also the needs are enormous, and NDF hopes to see responses to these not only from the public sector, but also to explore ways how the private sector can in different, innovative ways be engaged to address the issues.”
