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Virtual Kick-off Workshop on National GCF Platform in Côte d’Ivoire

On June 30, the Global Green Growth Institute and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MINEDD), under the Green Climate Fund (GCF) readiness program, organized a Virtual Kick-off Workshop on the National Climate Finance Platform for the Private Sector in Côte d’Ivoire. The event featured the establishment of the platform, with the NDA as the coordinating body, to discuss the Country Programme priority areas with AEs, the private sector, and other partners.

GGGI is assisting the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to adopt the transition model for green growth (aligned with and beyond the scope of this GCF Readiness project), by supporting the management of the implementation of strategic projects and programs. This Readiness project also aims to support the private sector in developing projects and increase investment in climate change. Private investors are not only important for their role in financing climate change mitigation and adaptation in Côte d’Ivoire, but also for the information and insights they can provide, as well as the expertise and agility they can bring to project development and implementation. This project will, therefore, ensure the engagement of the private sector, and enable private sector project development for potential funding from Green Climate Fund .

The virtual workshop benefitted from the participation of 33 members from Private Sector Associations; Public Institutions (PI); Entities Accredited (EA) to the Green Climate Fund; Entities Accredited (EA) to other Climate Funds (EA), and other Technical and Financial Partners (PTF).

The objective of this meeting was to provide the opportunity to the project as a whole (National GCF Platform), as well as the different stages leading to the establishment of the Platform.

Recognizing the challenge of financing Côte d’Ivoire’s climate change mitigation and adaptation actions, the Government of Côte d’Ivoire has initiated and implemented programs to access climate finance and mobilize investments in climate projects, including capacity building to engage effectively with the GCF over the long- term.

The opening remarks of the workshop were made by Dr Tiangoua Kone, GCF NDA, to thank the participants and partners for attending the workshop virtually due to the situation of global heath crisis and remind participants of the importance of setting up this platform, given the difficulties of access, the multitude of funds, and the complexity of the procedures. Dr. KONE emphasized the importance of the need to create this timely framework to create a network that will benefit all stakeholders.

The GCF GGGI readiness project coordinator, Dr. Nicaise Aman, presented the main objective of these consultations which is to set up a platform for structured dialogue with the private sector, as well as with key players in the field of climate finance. The engagement framework will improve communication, coordination, and monitoring of resources while encouraging private sector investments in climate change action.

In his presentation for the workshop, Dr Nicaise Aman, emphasized the five (5) specific objectives of the next consultations which are: (1) Analyze the existing platforms through an inventory of existing sectoral structured dialogue initiatives or those being formulated; in short, an analysis of existing public-private dialogue platforms on climate finance; (2) Make an assessment of the knowledge of stakeholders (especially the private sector) on access to climate finance; (3) Assess the opportunity for creating a structured dialogue platform for private sector engagement on climate finance; take the opinion of the various stakeholders concerning the need for the establishment of a platform for dialogue on climate finance in Côte d’Ivoire; (4) Define and validate the functional architecture and operating model and structure of the platform with all of the stakeholders; and (5) Define and adopt a biannual action plan of the platform’s activities.

At the end of the workshop, participants gave their recommendations and suggestions for setting up a structured platform on the Green Climate Fund at the national level. The summarized conclusions emphasized the need for effective communication and collaboration between stakeholders and the NDA.

To conclude, Dr. Fofana expressed his hope of seeing this platform succeed, which will be the first in the sub-region and will serve as a model and benchmark for creation and synergy with other platforms in Africa.

The closing remarks of the virtual workshop were given by Dr. Tiangoua Kone, Focal Point of the Green Climate Fund, to thank the participants for their presence at the workshop. The official launch of the platform and adoption of a biannual action plan will be held on September 29, 2020.