Zambia Roundtable Discussion on Manufacturing, Energy and
Infrastructure Adaptation Investment Markets for Commercial Banks

The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) under their recently launched Africa Business Adaptation Platform will host a roundtable discussion on the topic of Enabling Adaptation Investment Markets within the Manufacturing, Energy and Infrastructure sectors in Zambia.

Background of Adaptation Finance in Zambia:

Manufacturing, energy and infrastructure sectors face growing climate risks in Africa, with significant impact expected on GDP and livelihoods if no action is taken. In Zambia, food processing for export contributes significantly to the country’s GDP and plays a core role in resilience via food security, nutrition and employment. Lending to manufacturing industries is around 21% of total commercial bank lending in the country, while around 9.2% of commercial lending flows into energy, water and gas industries. There is a significant need and opportunity for the private sector in Zambia to contribute to climate adaptation finance flows in these sectors.

GCA is currently conducting a study to demonstrate that adaptation solutions are bankable. This market analysis will identify and build the investment case for a few commercially viable adaptation ‘solutions’ in Manufacturing, Energy and Infrastructure relevant for 4 countries: Tanzania, Kenya, Zambia and Democratic Republic of Congo. The overall aim of the project is to enable private finance to play a catalytic role in strengthening resilience across these countries. By equipping inclusive financial service providers with the right tools, data, and investment cases, they will be better positioned to identify and finance bankable adaptation projects, and support corporate clients, independent power producers, and quasi-sovereign clients in building resilient supply chains that protect and increase revenues.

Objectives of Lusaka Roundtable

Through stakeholder consultation, this event aims to prioritize adaptation themes and solutions relevant for commercial banks in manufacturing, energy and Infrastructure sectors. This roundtable discussion also aims to gain external feedback on the study’s early findings for Zambia.

GCA will share early insights from the analysis including:

• Key lessons from the rapid climate hazard assessment in Zambia relevant for these sectors
• List of prioritized subsectors relevant for commercial banks in manufacturing, energy and Infrastructure in Zambia
• Shortlisted adaptation solutions for Zambia using a draft prioritization framework to balance impact and commercial viability.

The roundtable discussion will touch on the following points:

1. Validation of identified key hazards, exposure, and vulnerability findings for Zambia
2. Refinement of the prioritization framework of adaptation solutions
3. Relevance of selected adaptation solutions for Zambian commercial banks
4. Perspectives on the characteristics and needs of local borrowers for each adaptation solution
5. Proposed de-risking mechanisms required by banks for selected adaptation solutions.