CLIC and CGIAR Partnership Assesses Climate Risk for African Agribusinesses

The ClimateShot Investor Coalition and the CGIAR Hub for Sustainable Finance have formed a strategic alliance to quantify climate and nature-related risks and impacts for agribusinesses across Africa. The collaboration assessed eight African agribusinesses at the 2023 African Food Systems Forum in Tanzania, generating more than 30 investor meetings within five days.

Africa's agrifood sector employs 62% of the continent's workforce and is projected to become a trillion-dollar market by 2030, yet it faces mounting threats from climate change, a rapidly growing population expected to double by 2050, and heavy dependence on food imports. The CLIC-ImpactSF partnership, formed within the AICCRA project framework, applies science-backed methods to assess climate and nature risks for agribusinesses where investors typically lack both data and the capacity to conduct impact assessments. Participants at AGRF included major funders such as USAID, the European Investment Bank, IFAD, and several impact investment funds.

The partnership's rigorous assessment process resulted in tangible outcomes beyond the event itself. One agribusiness formed a partnership with a major commercial bank following on-site meetings. Several others entered due diligence with venture capital providers and international impact investors. One company has applied for grant funding from the UNFCCC Adaptation Fund. Miyonga Fresh Greens won the Best Climate Tech Start-Up award at AfricArena, a direct result of the climate and nature risk assessment work completed under the partnership.

CLIC and ImpactSF are jointly developing simplified yet scientifically robust methods to help agribusinesses measure and communicate their climate and nature impacts in a format accessible to investors. The partnership targets cost-effective data collection and investor matchmaking as key services. The organisations are actively seeking additional partners in climate and nature-related risk measurement to scale the approach across the thousands of small enterprises that constitute Africa's agrifood sector. Contact details for both organisations have been made publicly available for interested parties.

Key figure — Over 30 investor meetings in five days at AGRF 2023