MAR: Market approaches to resilience

BRACED will test innovative market-based approaches to improve the resilience of vulnerable pastoralist/agro-pastoralist households to climate change. These will enable households, businesses and communities to better manage their resources and everyday risks.

BRACED will work with private investors to address climate risks by promoting financial models and economic opportunities. It will also stimulate the appropriate diversification of economic activity among the most vulnerable, through public and private sector partnerships.

BRACED supports the following key areas:

• Insurance by providing support to the innovative design, pricing, marketing and outreach of services to communities
• Village savings and loans associations
• Supporting microfinance institutions (Afar MFI, Somali MFI, and Wisdom MFI) and banks to incorporate climate risk into their risk management portfolios and helping them develop innovative credit products
• Strengthening rapid-onset emergency early warning frameworks through contingency funding
• Supporting financial institutions to expand mobile banking to remote areas
• Strengthening climate information by funding weather station infrastructure
• Supporting participatory rangeland and natural resource management
• Building Local government capacity for green towns and cities

The innovative nature of the program means learning from piloted initiatives is critical, with an emphasis on monitoring and evaluation. Towards this end the program will work closely with regional research institutes such as Semara, Jijiga and Arbaminch Universities and the Afar Pastoral and Agro-pastoralist Research Institute.

Lessons will be shared widely, particularly with national and regional level government institutions. Learning outcomes will be used to inform implementation of the Climate Resilient Green Economy and the Climate Smart Initiative which aim to build the capacity of the Ethiopian government to mainstream climate considerations into its large scale food security programming.

BRACED is being implemented by a consortium of Farm Africa (lead), Mercy Corp, Lion’s Head Global Partners and LTS International Limited. It will directly benefit an estimated 340,000 people.