News

GRP and UNDP win Global Environment Facility Challenge Award

Global Resilience Partnership collaborating with UNDP were selected among a total of nine projects announced as winners of the Global Environment Facility’s inaugural Challenge Program for Adaptation Innovation, a new competition supporting private sector solutions to build resilience in developing countries.

Global Resilience Partnership collaborating with UNDP were selected among a total of nine projects announced as winners of the Global Environment Facility’s inaugural Challenge Program for Adaptation Innovation, a new competition supporting private sector solutions to build resilience in developing countries.

The GEF Challenge Program for Adaptation Innovation supports scalable, bankable private sector enterprises that support economies, communities and ecosystems to become resilient to the adverse impacts of climate change. More than 400 submissions were received following a call for proposals in August. Half of the funding will be used to support initiatives in least developed countries.

Global Resilience Partnership and UNDP developed the Resilience for Peace & Stability: Innovation Challenge. This Challenge will catalyse innovative private sector investment in water and food security that hold the greatest promise of delivering resilience, scalable outcomes that promote peace & stability in fragile and conflict-prone regions.

GRP Programme Director, Nathanial Matthews said

We are thrilled to have opportunity to work together with the Global Environment Facility, UNDP and our Partners on this challenging, but important project. More than 80% of the world’s poor will live in fragile and conflict affected states by 2030 and climate change is the ultimate threat multiplier for these areas – further stressing resources and people including food and water security which are critical for livelihoods, education and health. We need to find innovative ways to work with the private sector because they create jobs, they build trust through trading relationships and they can be inclusive and scalable. Importantly, this initiative will have a specific focus on gender because we know that countries with more women in the workforce are less likely to experience internal conflict and violence.’  

 The identification of investment opportunities will be co-designed with GRP Partners over the coming months and will optimize the learning from previous investments and partner programs.  

“We were reassured by the many good ideas received about how to strengthen climate resilience in developing countries,” said GEF CEO and Chairperson Naoko Ishii. “As a member of the Global Commission on Adaptation, this is an issue close to my heart, one which is in great need for innovation and scaling up. I very much look forward to seeing the results of these new GEF-supported projects, which will pave the way to increase private investment for climate resilience in multiple markets.”

Want to know more?

Read the full GEF Press Release here

More information on the GRP and UNDP Resilience for Peace & Stability: Innovation Challenge will be released shortly. Keep visiting visit globalresiliencepartnership.org for updates.

Photo credit: ©IFPRI/Milo Mitchell, Abuja