YouthADAPT Challenge Webinar: Building Climate-Resilient Supply Chains in Adaptation Businesses

This webinar for adaptation businesses aims to raise their awareness and understanding of climate-resilient supply chain practices, provide necessary skills and knowledge, and share information on accessing finance and investment opportunities.

Event description

YouthADAPT Challenge
The African Youth Adaptation Solutions Challenge (YouthADAPT Challenge) is an annual competition and awards program jointly organized by the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), the African Development Bank (AFDB), and Climate Investment Funds (CIF). It aims to strengthen inclusive growth and broaden investment and economic opportunities for African youth. Winners of the YouthADAPT Challenge receive up to $100,000 in business grants and participate in a 12-month business accelerator program to help them scale up their businesses, deepen their impact, and create decent jobs. Fifteen winners were selected in the Challenge’s first edition, launched in September 2021. At COP27, the program announced 20 winners for the second edition of the Challenge while 8 female-led enterprises were announced as winners for the third edition of the program at COP 28.

Context
Global supply chains are increasingly vulnerable to disruptions caused by climate change. These disruptions, including extreme weather events, rising sea levels, and water scarcity, threaten the stability and efficiency of critical infrastructure, agricultural production, and resource extraction.

The current focus on efficiency and cost reduction in supply chains has often prioritized short-term gains over long-term resilience, leaving them vulnerable to the increasing frequency and intensity of climate-related events.

Therefore, there is an urgent need to build climate-resilient supply chains that are:

• Prepared: Able to anticipate and mitigate climate risks through proactive planning and risk management strategies
• Adaptive: Capable of quickly adjusting to changing conditions and disruptions with minimal impact on operations
• Sustainable: Minimising their own environmental footprint and contributing to positive climate action.

Key objectives

• Raise Awareness: Raising awareness and understanding of climate-resilient supply chain practices among adaptation businesses to enhance their growth and productivity.
• Provide Access to Information and Expertise: Equipping climate adaptation businesses with the necessary skills and access to knowledge to enable them to take the necessary steps to build and sustain climate resilient supply chains.
• Provide Information on Access to Finance and Investment: How can climate adaptation businesses access financing and investments to build climate-resilient supply chains.