SLYCAN Trust at NAP Expo 2024: During this year’s NAP Expo hosted by the UNFCCC and the Government of Bangladesh, SLYCAN Trust organized a session on gender-responsive and inclusive risk management through entrepreneurship in National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) on April 24th, 2024.

The NAP Expo is an annual outreach event organized by the Least Developed Countries Expert Group under the UNFCCC together with other partners to promote the exchange of experiences and foster partnerships between a wide range of actors and stakeholders on how to advance national adaptation planning. The overall objective of the NAP Expo is to raise adaptation ambition by advancing the formulation and implementation of NAP, share experiences and best practices, and serve as a global platform to advance technical and practical measures towards the development and implementation of NAPs. This year, the event took place in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from April 22nd to 25th.

The session organized by SLYCAN Trust brought together a diverse panel of experts to discuss the integration of entrepreneurship into NAPs with a gender-responsive lens and as a strategy for economic diversification, risk management, and empowerment. This interactive dialogue and workshop session provided valuable insights into the ways in which countries such as Ghana, Chile, and Senegal are including such considerations into different stages and aspects of their national adaptation planning process, looking at key sectors and elements that can connect entrepreneurship development to climate action.

Insights from the panelists

The four panelists highlighted different aspects of entrepreneurship, risk management, gender, and private sector involvement in the national adaptation planning process and the formulation as well as implementation of NAPs.

Ms. Priscilla Ulloa highlighted Chile's journey in integrating a gender approach into climate policies. Since 2017, Chile has made significant strides in this regard by establishing inter-ministerial teams, conducting gender-focused studies, and incorporating gender considerations into national climate change laws and strategies.

Dr. Antwi-Boasiako Amoah discussed Ghana’s NAP process, emphasizing the importance of considering gender vulnerabilities, particularly in sectors like agriculture dominated by women. Ghana's approach involves assessing vulnerabilities, identifying adaptive measures, and supporting women entrepreneurs to diversify their livelihoods beyond agriculture.

Mr. Gabriel Pierre Ndiaye shared Senegal's experience in integrating entrepreneurship into NAPs, focusing on sectors vulnerable to climate change impacts. Senegal emphasizes supporting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) led by women to enhance adaptive capacity.

The fourth panelist, Mr. Kavindu Ediriweera, presented SLYCAN Trust’s analysis of entrepreneurship in the 54 NAPs submitted to the UNFCCC so far. 70% of these NAPs mention business, innovation, or micro-, small-, and medium- sized enterprises (MSMEs) in a general sense. However, looking more specifically, 43% of NAPs address entrepreneurship support more concretely and 11% refer to start-ups, while only three submitted NAPs mention incubators, accelerators, or similar programmes. Approximately half of all submitted NAPs (54%) refer to women and gender considerations in the context of business development, entrepreneurship, and MSMEs, 39% to youth in the same regard.

Group work and discussion

The workshop featured engaging group discussions on how to incorporate entrepreneurship and other key considerations into NAPs, focusing on some of the following points:

• Engaging the private sector: Participants emphasized the need to communicate sustainability benefits to private businesses and develop strategies to involve them in climate adaptation initiatives.
• Stakeholder engagement and partnerships: Groups discussed leveraging value chains to engage stakeholders, identify vulnerabilities, and integrate perspectives into NAP development.
• Climate and disaster risk finance and adaptation finance: Participants explored mechanisms to integrate climate and disaster risk finance into entrepreneurial practices and NAPs, ensuring sustainable adaptation funding.

Key takeaways and recommendations from the discussion included the following:

1. Strengthening inclusive development through stakeholder engagement in national adaptation planning: Integrating entrepreneurship into NAPs can promote inclusive development and participatory processes, especially by supporting vulnerable groups like women and youth. Participants emphasized engaging diverse stakeholders, including private sector actors, to foster entrepreneurship within NAPs. A value chain approach was proposed to identify key actors and integrate their perspectives into adaptation planning.
2. Leveraging public-private collaboration: Engaging the private sector across all stages of the NAP process can play a crucial role to access data, include their perspectives, and mobilize sustainable adaptation finance and innovative solutions.
3. Strengthening climate finance: Discussions highlighted the need to integrate climate and disaster risk finance into entrepreneurial practices within NAPs. Innovative financing mechanisms can support MSMEs led by women and enhance climate resilience.
4. Capacity-building for the NAP process: Recommendations included providing financial and technical support to nations starting their NAP process or the implementation and localization of their existing NAP. Knowledge-sharing and lessons learned from experienced countries can facilitate the development of robust adaptation plans.
5. Mainstreaming gender-responsive entrepreneurship: Gender considerations are essential for effective adaptation, particularly in sectors like agriculture where women play a significant role. Including women as a key stakeholder group with appropriate participation and representation is important not only for the implementation, but also for baseline assessments and formulation of NAPs. Entrepreneurship was recognized as a powerful tool for gender-responsive climate action. Collective efforts, including women's group initiatives, can enhance the effectiveness of adaptation strategies and NAP implementation.

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Conclusion

The event hosted by SLYCAN Trust showcased the efforts of countries such as Chile, Ghana, and Senegal to incorporate entrepreneurship and gender-responsive approaches into their NAPs across all stages and elements of the adaptation cycle. By fostering public-private partnerships and prioritizing inclusivity, these initiatives pave the way for resilient and sustainable adaptation to climate change. The event also highlighted the importance of innovative, collaborative approaches in NAP development, highlighting entrepreneurship as a catalyst for gender-responsive risk management and adaptation strategies on the local, national, and global level.