Local organisations can apply for funding for local climate and biodiversity projects. Registration is now open until 15 January 2026.
IKI Small Grants launched its 7th international Call for Proposals on 17th November at COP30 in Belém, Brazil. The call addresses local organisations based in an ODA-eligible country with an average annual revenue between 60,000 and 500,000 euros. They are invited to apply for funding of local or regional climate and biodiversity action projects. IKI Small Grants provides funding between 60,000 and 200,000 euros and is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Government.
Project proposals must focus on one or more of the following IKI funding areas:
Mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions
Adaptation to the impacts of climate change
Conserving natural carbon sinks with a focus on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation
Conserving biological diversity
Besides financing, organisations receive support in building their role as strong actors through capacity development measures. The selected organisations are accompanied by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, which implements the IKI Small Grants Programme on behalf of the German Federal Government.
Effective Climate and Biodiversity Projects Worldwide
Since the beginning of the program in 2019, more than 250 local project ideas and individual measures have been selected across two different funding lines. Through project work, around 48,000 people have already been supported in effectively strengthening their resilience to the negative impacts of climate change. Additionally, nearly 100,000 hectares of terrestrial, marine, and coastal ecosystems have been effectively protected or converted to sustainable management – an area approximately the size of 170,000 football fields.
With support from Germany’s IKI Small Grants programme for local climate and biodiversity action, EBIKES4AFRICA is making biking accessible and affordable.
In Namibia’s capital Windhoek, mobility is an everyday challenge – especially for the underprivileged in the city’s sprawling population. By manufacturing its own brand of solar-powered e-bike, introducing rental options, and partnering with social initiatives, the local enterprise is creating alternatives to traditional transport, specifically geared towards underserved communities.
When Olivia Shililifa gets on her bike to ride out into the countryside around Namibia’s capital Windhoek, cycling is more than an exercise. To her, it’s about making a statement for sustainable mobility to her fellow Namibians. “Cycling is a way forward,” she says. “I don’t ride for myself, I ride for a community, I ride for a nation.” Using her influence as a professional cyclist and athlete, Olivia is committed to putting biking on the map in Namibia. She is doing this together with the social enterprise EBIKES4AFRICA, which makes and provides solar-powered e-bikes – with funding and support from Germany’s IKI Small Grants programme.
Cycling in Windhoek is rarely seen as a viable mode of transport. In recent years, the city has seen a major population influx from rural areas. The city’s borders have expanded, while infrastructure struggles to keep up. Buses are rare and unreliable, and the cost of driving or using taxis is unaffordable for many. Rugged terrain, steep hills, long distances, and scorching heat make traditional bicycles impractical.
“Transport is a big struggle in Namibia,” explains Marita Walther, co-founder of EBIKES4AFRICA. “People spend up to a third of their income on transport alone. There’s a great need to introduce a more cost-effective solution.” The e-bikes her company makes are designed to meet this need. “Riding traditional bikes is exhausting on the many hills of the city. While 10 or 20% of the population may be fit enough to cycle five kilometres to work, 80% are not, because they are too old or too young. We open up possibilities for people to use bicycles.”
Bikes “made in Namibia” for local needs and challenges
EBIKES4AFRICA designs and builds e-bikes tailored to Namibia’s local realities and demands. Like all-terrain jeeps on two wheels, the bikes can handle rough roads while remaining affordable to maintain. Built locally by trained Namibian technicians, they feature steel frames, puncture-proof tyres, and solar-powered charging systems. The bikes are built for a wide range of users — from students and commuters to street vendors and entrepreneurs, the enterprise’s main target groups.
With a current production capacity of 200 e-bikes per year, EBIKES4AFRICA is actively changing the transport landscape in Windhoek. “We selected EBIKES4AFRICA for its contribution to helping Namibia scale climate-smart, socially equal mobility solutions,” says David Fuchs, IKI Small Grants’ programme director. “This is not a one-off donation. It’s part of a growing response and solution to achieve more transport equality, more climate resilience, and more energy independence.”
The project now serves as a blueprint for further e-hubs throughout Windhoek and northern Namibia. It’s a living example of how climate solutions can take root at the local level — driven by purpose, community, and opportunity. With more e-bike riders taking to the streets, figures like Olivia – once a trainee, now a national athlete – are championing safe, efficient, and sustainable transport alternatives in a country well suited for change. As she emphasizes, “Namibia is a cycling paradise.”
EBIKES4AFRICA is a social enterprise that specialises in electric mobility and solar recharge systems. A pioneering project for Namibia and Africa, EBIKES4AFRICA provides electric-assist bicycles. Electric bicycles are the most affordable and efficient way of moving, and because it is supported by an electric motor and battery, significantly increases distance, speed, and ease of travel for better access to vital facilities. As the first to introduce this technology they believe that their products and projects create the opportunity for Windhoek to be on the forefront of future-driven transport development initiatives.
In Bangladesh’s flood-prone Haor region, where flash floods threaten homes and livelihoods each monsoon, a project implemented by national financial institution Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) supported by Germany’s IKI Small Grants offers communities new tools and knowledge for adapting to the effects of climate change.
Almost 3,000 residents are experiencing increased security and stability in their everyday lives, thanks to over 1.5 kilometres of flood protection walls, tree buffer zones, and maintenance training. “Before, we lived in panic and anxiety,” says Kalpana Devi from Jarulia Village in Bangladesh’s Haor Region. “We had to build lofts to keep animals safe. We’d carry bamboo and tie up our cows when the floodwater came. It was exhausting, and still nothing ever felt secure.” The region is a unique wetland ecosystem in the northeast of the country, seasonal flooding is a part of life. Locally called Afal, flash floods have a significant effect on the region, one of the country’s four vulnerable climate hotspot areas.
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In recent years, climate change has intensified rainfall and erosion of the villages through the afal waves, leaving low-income communities with fewer options and increasingly vulnerable. As more than 70 per cent of houses are made of mud, they are affected by rain and storm waters that damage homes and other buildings. Each year, families like Kalpana’s spend the equivalent of hundreds of euros on flood repairs, relying on temporary solutions like sandbags and bamboo fencing. Each year, the water returns and puts pressure on the villages and villagers once again.
International backing for local purpose
Launched by the Government of Bangladesh in the late 1980s, the Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) is tasked with financing the country’s development projects as part of its vision to bring an end to poverty. Between 2023-2025, with support from the German government’s IKI Small Grants programme, PKSF ran a pilot project to test long-term, climate-resilient infrastructure in some of the region’s most flood-exposed “hatis” – small, isolated village-islands in the Sunamganj district in the country’s northeast. For PKSF, the project offered a chance to pilot new methods in a region often overlooked. “Our role at PKSF is to bring climate-smart development to places where traditional support doesn’t reach,” says AKM Nuruzzaman, General Manager for Environment and Climate Change at PKSF.
“The Haor region is difficult to access, but we believed in testing solutions here because the need is real – and so is the community’s resilience.” Partnering with the three local NGOs Thengamara Mahila Sabuj Sangha (TMSS), Friends In Village Development Bangladesh (FIVDB), and Padakhep Manobik Unnayan Kendra (Padakhep), the project involved constructing over 1.5 kilometres of wave-resistant flood retention walls, planting 1,300+ flood-tolerant indigenous trees, and elevating schoolyards and community grounds to serve as safe spaces during floods. “The living space is safe and protected, women like Kalpana can now build and expand their own home,” Nuruzzaman outlines.
Funding funders to disburse resources in the Haor region
Working with the IKI Small Grants “fund the funder” approach allowed PKSF to select organisations on the ground with deep ties to the local communities. Using this method, IKI Small Grants channels funding and technical support through intermediaries like PKSF in Bangladesh who then identify, finance, and support local organisations and community-based initiatives. Led by PKSF, the advantage of the selection process through the institution lies in the fact that it can engage local organisations for climate and biodiversity action in their own language and context – directly and effectively.
This model strengthens local ownership, builds long-term capacity for entities like PKSF, and ensures that climate and biodiversity solutions are suited to their context and can grow and be adopted elsewhere. It’s a strategy that lends partners more responsibility to disburse funds and resources themselves and empowers countries to take the lead in driving their own climate resilience and adaptation.
Challenging work leading to local ownership
From the outset, the work came with challenges. The three villages are very remote. “Just moving materials to the sites was a major hurdle,” Nuruzzaman recalls. “In dry season, there are no waterways. In rainy season, there’s no dry land to store construction supplies. Technical staff didn’t want to stay in such remote areas. We had to build temporary shelters and work with local labour wherever possible.” To make the impact last, PKSF built the project to ensure ownership could remain local. “If anything goes wrong in the future,” he adds, “the villages can maintain things by themselves – without asking experts from the outside.”
Community members contributed labour, received training on maintenance, and participated in climate adaptation workshops. Women especially noted improvements in freedom of movement after dark, when the rains used to inundate living spaces, and sanitation. Elevated grounds and protection walls make daily life more secure. Boats can now dock properly, transporting people and goods in the region.
Engineer Sadananda Bhattacharya, who oversaw part of the project with local NGO FIVDB, observes: “These families are always in a state of panic when the monsoon season arrives. The residents used to spend 25,000 to 30,000 taka (between 170 and over 200 euros) every year just to hold back the water with bamboo and sandbags.”
Beyond infrastructure
Kalpana sees the benefits in everyday moments. “I no longer have to worry every time clouds gather. Now that the wall protects us, it is easier. I can save the money we used to spend on repairs – and now I use it for my child’s education. That’s the change.” The project now protects some 2,700 residents across three hatis, with interest from neighbouring communities growing.
PKSF is preparing larger-scale proposals based on lessons learned to expand these models to other vulnerable regions – from drought-prone areas to cyclone-exposed coastlines. “We are trying to scale up this project,” Nuruzzaman explains. “We are approaching different development partners, and we are also talking with the government so to replicate this kind of project.” For now, the Haor villages have something they didn’t before: a greater sense of safety, a new level of flood protection, and the tools to safeguard their villages themselves.
Palli Karma Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) was established by the Government of Bangladesh in 1990 and registered under the Companies Act 1913/1994 as a ‘not for profit’ organization with the vision of ‘A Bangladesh where poverty has been eradicated; ruling development and governance paradigm in inclusive, people-cantered, equitable and sustainable; and all citizens live healthy, appropriately educated and empowered and humanly dignified life’.
In Pakistan’s Himalayas, Germany’s IKI Small Grants programme worked with the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) to fund local business efforts to promote cultivating roses and saffron in the country’s high-altitude agriculture. The measures were part of an initiative run in India, Pakistan, and Tajikistan for financing local ideas that turn climate risks into business opportunities that reached 4,000 people directly.
“When it doesn’t rain for a long time, we have to harvest our crops prematurely, losing time, labour, and money,” says Manzur, a farmer from Kosht village in northern Pakistan’s Chitral district. “Now, saffron grows with minimal water, even during the dry season, and restores soil health using manure – not chemicals.” In the highlands of Chitral, Pakistan, reduced rainfall and shrinking glaciers have made farming precarious for local, rural populations. A quiet transformation is taking root – one saffron bulb, one rosa damascene plant after another.
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Decision-making at the local level and space for testing new ideas
With support from IKI Small Grants, AKF in Pakistan launched a business challenge for private companies to receive funding for climate-smart business opportunities. In three countries – India, Pakistan, and Tajikistan – the initiative awarded grants to a total of eight local businesses. The German government provided 900,000 euros in funding through IKI Small Grants. The IKI programme is more than just a source of funding. It follows a unique “funding the funders” model, by entrusting local institutions like AKF to design and implement their own funding schemes, and offering support for developing the tools for providing funding. This approach puts decision-making power directly into the hands of those closest to the ground — those who understand local needs and climate pressures.
AKF was wholly responsible for awarding and disbursing the funds locally to the private companies. Muhammad Ali is project manager at Aga Khan Foundation in Pakistan and in charge of the IKI Small Grants project. As he explains, opportunities for climate financing are meagre in Pakistan. “Businesses face issues in securing loans from institutions. IKI Small Grants allowed us to suit requirements to the local context. We could connect with businesses and give them space to test their climate action ideas.”
Climate challenge meets entrepreneurial spirit and vision
Local cosmetics company North Naturals Private Limited was one of three winners with its plan to introduce and cultivate high-value, low-water crops like saffron and rosa damascene in the country’s highlands. What began as an experiment has become a beacon – showing how business and local communities can work together on regenerative, nature-based business models that restore land, livelihoods, and local pride. The two crops are well-suited to the changing climate, requiring little water and no chemical inputs. The idea quickly gained favour.
Traditional farming in Chitral’s Mulkhow Valley had become increasingly difficult. 53 natural springs dried up between 1998 and 2008, and conventional cash crops like wheat were failing. But this new initiative, supported by IKI Small Grants, asked a simple question: What if climate change didn’t just represent risk, but opportunity? “We’re introducing crops that match the new climate reality,” explains Ali. “Saffron and roses use less water, grow well at altitude, and create value that wasn’t possible with conventional crops.”
Results rooted in local knowledge
By training 140 farmers in how to grow saffron and rosa damascene – reaching over 500 community members indirectly – the project covers an area of 14 hectares and brings traditional wisdom back into action. Composting, once sidelined for synthetic inputs, has been revived using leftover crop waste. Previously burned, releasing carbon, this waste is now transformed into organic fertiliser. Over 50 tons of factory and farm waste were converted into ten tons of compost for organic farming, helping enrich the soil for growing saffron. “Saffron is more than a crop. It’s a return to our roots,” says Manzur. “I remember how my father’s generation shared manure and worked the land together. Now we’re doing it again.”
Women have also become stewards of this shift. North Naturals trained 100 women in cultivation, harvest and processing of the plants and Manzur’s wife proudly explains how she helped other village women use saffron not only for cooking but also as a natural remedy for winter illnesses in children. “It brings us together. We support each other.”
High value, low input, tangible impacts
Although the first harvest was modest, the 85% growth rate of the saffron bulbs bodes well for future yields – and for transforming unproductive land into sustainable income. “Last year, I spent 150,000 Pakistani rupees (around 450 euros) on wheat and barely broke even,” Manzur recalls. “Saffron is different. It can finally let our land provide us with reliable income.”
Even in the early stages, the results are noticeable. Farmers who once struggled to break even with water-intensive wheat are beginning to see saffron as a viable alternative. The project has already led to reduced carbon emissions and improved soil conditions. In this project alone, local farmers planted 12,000 rosa damascene plants and 2.5 tons of saffron bulbs. Across all three countries, AKF’s business challenge reached almost 4,000 people directly – almost half women – and contributed to advancing resilience through climate-smart solutions.
Beyond the highlands: A scalable model
The early success of the highlands project points toward a replicable model – not just for Pakistan, but for any region where climate pressure meets entrepreneurial drive. By working with and through regional partners like AKF, small ideas that bigger funding institutions often overlook can receive funding for local needs. “Compared to other donors, IKI Small Grants let us test a high-risk idea, in a high-altitude region, and it worked,” says Muhammad Ali. “They gave us space to grow.”
From replacing carbon-emitting fertilizers to strengthening community cohesion, this initiative proves that small grants can yield big shifts. “Despite some reluctance initially to diversify from wheat with its quicker returns, communities now see the results,” says Ali. “It takes time to get the returns from saffron and rose cultivation and harvesting. It’s not just about cultivation. It’s about training and learning. The future is better now. Yes.”
The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) is a private, not-for-profit, non-denominational, international development agency established in 1967 by His Highness the Aga Khan. AKF brings together human, financial, and technical resources to address some of the challenges faced by the poorest and most marginalised communities in the world. With an emphasis on women and girls, AKF invests in human potential, expanding opportunities and improving quality of life.
Across the drylands of northern Kenya and the foothills of Nepal, forests that faced drought, slow degradation and invasions of alien plant species are now springing back to life — thanks to the local communities that depend on them. With support from Germany’s International Climate Initiative, people across continents have taken the lead in restoring almost 300 hectares of damaged ecosystems, removing thousands of tonnes of invasive species, and planting and protecting tens of thousands native seedlings. The result is not just greener landscapes, but renewed local engagement, ownership, and resilience in the face of climate change.
In Kenya’s Mukogodo Forest, Maasai tribesman Nicholas Kodei expresses what the land means to his people: “We call it Pasenai, meaning everything. The forest is our total dependence.” At nearly 30,000 hectares, the Mukogodo Forest is the country’s largest national forest reserve. It provides water, medicinal plants, grazing land, and wildlife habitats for indigenous communities – especially during times of drought. But this ecosystem has come under threat. Invasive plants like Opuntia stricta, a large cactus normally at home in the Americas, have spread quickly across degraded areas, crowding out and choking native vegetation and reducing the productivity of land that families rely on. In addition, drought has robbed the community of the means to cultivating crops and raising livestock.
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Thousands of kilometres to the east, in Nepal’s Barandabhar forest, communities face similar challenges. The fast-growing vine plant Mikania micrantha, also originally from the Americas and locally known as the “green devil,” has taken over large swaths of forest, smothering biodiversity and threatening livelihoods. “This unique and rich forest is vital for biodiversity, local livelihoods and human health,” says Lila Nath Sharma of ForestAction Nepal. “Conserving it is no longer optional – it is essential.”
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Bringing together traditional and modern resources in Nepal
In response to these growing threats, two locally-led reforestation efforts took root, supported by a combined total funding of around €275,000 from IKI Small Grants. In Nepal, ForestAction Nepal and several community forest user groups mobilized to remove invasive species and protect and nurture native trees.
Equipped with kutto hoes and simple tools, local residents – mostly women from disadvantaged backgrounds – cleared over 1,500 tonnes of invasive plants from nearly 200 hectares of forest. Once cleared, they planted 50,000 native seedlings to help the forest regenerate naturally.
In Kenya, the organisation IMPACT (Indigenous Movement for Peace Advancement and Conflict Transformation) coordinated a similar effort in Laikipia County, reaching over 5,000 people across the Mukogodo Forest region after receiving approximately €170,000 in funding from IKI Small Grants. Youth were trained in tree nursery management, women led reforestation campaigns, and elders provided guidance in land-use planning. On 75 hectares of forest land, the alien cacti were cleared, grass seeds were sewn, and tree nurseries were built for crop farming.
“We’ve had five years of drought and we were trying to cultivate crops and we got nothing,” says Nicholas Kodei. “Now in our tree nursery we intend to propagate 10,000 seedlings every year. Already, we’ve harvested 20 tonnes of maize and 5 tonnes of beans.”
Turning thickets into compost, cactus into wine, marmalade and methane
After the clean-up, a particularly innovative outcome came from Nepal, where communities began turning the cleared invasive weed into compost. “The bushes are regularly cleared and converted into manure,” explains Kumar Gurung, a member of a local forest user group. “Compared to buffalo or chicken manure from the market, this compost makes our chilies, tomatoes, and paddy grow faster,” adds Deepak Lama, a local farmer.
Meanwhile, in Kenya, neighbouring communities in Laikipia County have found creative ways to put the invasive Opuntia stricta cactus species to good use. In another IKI Small Grants project with the local Institute for Peace Development and Innovation that is transitioning from use of firewood to use of biogas, the cactus is now being transformed into biogas, wine, and marmalade, turning an ecological challenge into a source of sustainable energy and income. Both of these examples of innovative uses not only help control the spread of invasive species but also boost local livelihoods and circular economies.
Local responsibility key to regreening sustainably
While the metrics added up for both projects are impressive – 275 hectares restored, 60,000 seedlings planted, over 1,500 tonnes of invasive species removed – the true success lies in the shift toward local ownership. In both Kenya and Nepal, communities have deepened their knowledge of ecosystems, developed practical land management skills, and rekindled ties to the forest. “The biggest positive we’ve seen is the community owning up to the management of the forests and surrounding rangelands,” says Lestan Kimiri of the ILMAMUSI Community Forest Association in Kenya.
From Chitwan in Nepal to Mukogodo in Kenya, these projects demonstrate how nature-based solutions – when led by local communities and backed by meaningful support – can restore not just ecosystems, but the relationships people have with their land. And how local solutions can be shared, adapted and applied globally. In late 2023, ForestAction Nepal was one of 11 IKI Small Grants organisations invited to Kathmandu to showcase their impact to an audience of peers, stakeholders and donors – and establish a working relationship with other reforestation projects. Likewise, IMPACT was one of 40 organisations invited to share its results with representatives of government, business, research and the donor community in Nairobi in early 2024. As Frank Krämer, Manager at IKI Small Grants, puts it: “One of our aims is for organisations to implement their projects and then share their solutions, learn from each other, and duplicate where possible. Locally tried and tested approaches to protecting and regreening forests are essential for a world we can all breathe in.”
Indigenous Movement for Peace Advancement and Conflict Transformation (IMPACT) is a community-based organization founded in 2002. It addresses the root causes of exclusion and poverty affecting indigenous peoples by supporting grassroots movements, strengthening community resilience, and promoting sustainable land and climate practices.
ForestAction Nepal is a learning oriented, not-for-profit organisation working in forestry, agriculture and climate change. It was founded in 2000 and aims to achieve productive, sustainable and equitable natural resource management through action research, policy dialogue and stakeholder engagement at local, regional and national level.
With support from Germany’s International Climate Initiative, Benin’s National Fund for Environment and Climate (FNEC) is working with local organisations to conserve woodlands and pastures, empower communities and transform livelihoods through fish farming, beekeeping and other sustainable sources of income.
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Safourath Seïdou, a young farmer living in Bourandou, a community in Benin’s northeastern Bembèrèkè municipality, could never have imagined that she would one day engage in fish farming in the middle of a forest. Of around 3,000 villagers directly impacted by FNEC’s small grants programme for local climate and biodiversity action across the country, she is transforming how she makes a livelihood.
“I did not know you could farm fish like this. With FNEC I learnt how to grow and feed them, everything.” The transition to fish farming, beekeeping, or other sustainable sources of income also relieves the biodiversity of the Sinatabé forest, as the local communities exploit it less, for instance, by collecting firewood or converting the forest into farmland.
For Dr. Apollinaire Gnanvi, director of Benin’s FNEC, this is the sort of impact he had envisioned with the fund’s small-grant initiative for climate and biodiversity action. With a 670,000 euro grant from Germany’s IKI Small Grants in 2021, the funding institution conducted a nation-wide call for proposals and financed five projects managed and run by Beninese non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in local communities. “The impacts are multiple and diverse,” Gnanvi explains. “Overall, living conditions have improved for populations, especially those near forests.” Besides around 3,000 people directly benefiting from the NGOs’ activities, Gnanvi adds, “almost 3,000 hectares of land have been restored.” This is the equivalent of about 4,000 soccer fields.
Benin’s nature reserves and ecosystems under pressure
Benin’s forests and pastures are important sources of livelihoods, sustenance and social cohesion in communities. Besides feeling the effects of climate change, the country’s nature reserves are under demographic pressure, suffering from over-exploitation due to increasing poverty and food insecurity in surrounding areas. The focus of the FNEC programme together with IKI Small Grants was to adapt agricultural practices to climate change, protect biodiversity, manage pastures, and sustainably develop resources for generating incomes without affecting the environment and biodiversity adversely. Conducting its own call for proposals, 40 project ideas were submitted. Five NGOs received financial and technical support of up to 90,000 euros each.
New sources of income for local communities
For example, the NGO AssociationFéminine pour une Jeunesse Epanouie (AFEJE) worked with FNEC to counter forest degradation by restoring vegetation and establishing sustainable land use methods. In the forest’s surrounding areas, they trained local communities in sustainable land management and created alternative income opportunities, including beekeeping, sustainable fisheries, and rabbit breeding. For Pierre Adje Assogba from AFEJE, the project benefits both nature and people: “Regenerating nature allows inhabitants a better quality of life and income without exerting pressure on the forests. The forest is secured.” For FNEC’s director, Appolinaire Gnanvi, economic empowerment goes hand in hand with nature conservation. “People now have income-generating activities. And these projects improve economic, social as well as environmental conditions,” he states.
Key to safeguarding sustainable development, the projects also focused on improving the role of women in local communities. Gnanvi explains a substantial outcome is “the involvement of women in decision-making processes at the communal level. This is significant because, in the past, women did not participate in decision-making.” Their participation now allows them to be spokespersons in their communities. Their needs and vulnerabilities are addressed, and by giving them a chance to earn their own incomes, women are earning more money than before. This means says Gnanvi, “women can invest part of the income they earn in their children’s education.”
The future for FNEC
The success of the projects has led to further cooperation with IKI Small Grants, mobilising more funds and support for climate change adaptation in Benin. “We started working with IKI Small Grants in 2021 and completed the first generation of projects with significant results. IKI Small Grants recognised it by endorsing another funding round,” Gnanvi remarks. Three successful projects from the first call for proposals were chosen for scaling up in other similar affected regions – this time financed with a significant amount of FNEC’s own resources. For funding institutions like FNEC in Benin, cooperating with IKI Small Grants was an investment in their institutional future, and a stepping stone for receiving larger funding. In early 2025, Gnanvi explains FNEC has managed to accrue $16 million from the United Nations’ Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund.
In Sinatabé forest, funding and support from Germany’s IKI Small Grants programme through Benin’s FNEC feels very close and very real. Local communities are restoring and conserving woodlands. Trees are protected from felling. Local ranger Désiré Mignanwindé explains, “last year; all these areas were deserted and used for agricultural activities. Now, they are completely covered. It is very rare to see forest areas gaining over agricultural land. This is a true innovation.”
The innovation, however, lies in a return to a shared sense of ownership and respect for the forest, which is considered sacred to the local population – and key to local social cohesion. As Solange Akochamou, a village inhabitant, notes, “Other forests have suffered bushfires. We do not have this problem. Everyone now understands this forest is untouchable.”
The National Fund for Environment and Climate (Fonds National pour l’Environnement et le Climat, FNEC) is a financial instrument under the supervision of the Ministry of Living Environment and Sustainable Development in Benin. The organisation was founded in 2003 and responds to a need to support and finance initiatives related to environmental protection and climate change. The financing mechanism for programs and projects aims at the protection and rational management of the environment, the fight against the harmful effects of climate change and the promotion of a sustainable development in Benin.
Teaming up with IKI Small Grants, the IKI funding programme for local climate and biodiversity action, Botswana’s National Development Bank offered local grants to help farmers transition to renewable energy solutions. For the bank, cooperating with IKI Small Grants promoted its own standing for further international climate financing.
By funding green farming practices, National Development Bank and IKI Small Grants generated positive climate impacts.
When Gorata Abotseng Lekau looks out over the fields of her farm in Botswana’s Kgatleng district, she sees more than the crops she grows and harvests. She sees a shift in what farming used to be, and what it can be in future: Predictable, reliable and consistent. “The dream of feeding the nation is becoming a reality,” she says. “That is what Botswana’s agenda is all about today.”
Besides contributing to national climate goals, Gorata sees tangible benefits in shifting her farming business to adopt a greener approach. “In the past, we waited for the rainy season to put seeds in the ground,” explains Lekau. We now have year-round production. “We are pumping water using solar and cutting expenses by about 70% a month,” she smiles.
Between June and August 2023, the bank invited farmers, horticultural producers and agribusinesses to apply for grants for introducing climate-smart agriculture. The enterprises each received 65% of the cost they were preparing to invest in replacing diesel generators and other climate friendly solutions as a grant.
Promoting renewable energy in off-grid areas
In Botswana, farms are mainly off-grid. Use of renewable energy is rare. Diesel generators used in farming are both costly and add up in the 11% of total national greenhouse gas emissions from the nation’s agricultural sector. NDB’s fund disbursed grants to replace diesel engines or generators with water-efficient irrigation, solar water pumps, or install shade netting for water and energy efficiency, as well as solar photovoltaic systems.
Funding 59 farming businesses for sustainable impact
With funding from Germany, NDB provided funding to 59 smallholder farming businesses. “The number of people funded were just over a hundred.” However, the communities the bank reached numbered “hundreds of thousands” of people, Direng outlines. The bank also effected sustainable change among the businesses. “Beneficiaries experienced a paradigm mind shift. They adopted new and effective and efficient ways of doing business.”
The impact for environment and climate is substantial. On 25 hectares of farmland smallholders now water their plants through drip irrigation. “Replacing diesel pumps has saved about 770 tons of CO2 emissions, and we are saving about 835 litres of diesel use per hectare. With efficient lighting and heating, we have saved 30,000 kilowatt hours of power.”
Funding the funders
The cooperation between NDB and IKI Small Grants shows how funding institutions can achieve impact through ownership of their calls for proposals for local climate and biodiversity action – with financial and technical support from the German programme’s funding line for funding institutions. As Eva Wuttge, responsible for funding institutions at IKI Small Grants explains, “Local institutions appreciate the autonomy. They know best how to achieve national climate and biodiversity targets through local projects, actors and networks.”
The advantage of working with local funding institutions, like banks and foundations, is that they know best what their target group needs. “The calls are in local languages promoted via radio, social media or local newspapers and for a very specific region. That makes it easier for local organisations or businesses to apply for and receive funding than for larger international calls for proposals.” Since 2021, IKI Small Grants has supported six funding institutions with up to €950,000 in financial support each. Their calls have financed some 89 small projects in nine countries.
Boosting reputation, capacity and visibility
The support package from Germany’s IKI Small Grants offers further support to institutions in improving their internal structures and processes and in training their staff. These measures, referred to as capacity building, are “priceless,” as Direng says. “We learnt that capacity development boosts implementation success.” Significantly, National Development Bank now has a standing on the international climate financing stage. Direng concludes by announcing that “NDB is currently in the advanced stages of seeking accreditation from the Adaptation Fund,” the larger United Nations fund that finances projects for adapting to global warming.
In Botswana’s Central District, smallholder farmer Tshenko Kabelano Magapu clearly shows the effect IKI Small Grants can have in introducing sustainable solutions for sustainable agriculture. A doctor who practices horticulture, Magapu proudly explains how she has transitioned to sustainable agriculture and how IKI Small Grants contributed to that success.
The support enabled the installation of a shading net and a drip irrigation system. Besides the consistent shade and water she now has, the grant allowed her to fulfil her life’s purpose. “I do horticulture because I advocate for a healthy lifestyle.” Going green now allows her to contribute “to food security, not only of Makoro community, but the country at large.”
The National Development Bank (NDB) was established under an act of parliament in 1963. The Bank is owned by the Government of Botswana and operates under the control of a Board of Directors appointed by the Minister of Finance and Development Planning. As a Development Financial Institution, NDB is viable and self-sustaining and continues to contribute immensely to the growth of the local economy. Its mission is to provide sustainable, innovative financial products and services for the development of the entire agricultural value chain through partnerships.
The fundraising training provided by the IKI Small Grants programme has borne fruit: The organisation Initiative pour la Promotion de la Famille et du Genre was able to acquire funding amounting to 3.6 million euros. This will secure their work for the future.
According to project manager Janvier Ngabo, the IKI Small Grants funding helped in aquiring new funding for the Rwandan organisation.
The organisation assists particularly vulnerable rural populations in preparing for the impacts of climate change. They design and implement tailored training in agroforestry and climate change and advise local authorities on better aligning their strategies with the needs of the local population. IKI Small Grants collaborated with the organisation for two years. During this time, roughly 300 community members were trained in sustainable natural resource management techniques, 44 members of village environmental committees received climate-related training, 4 climate adaptation plans were developed, and 98 water tanks were installed.
Strengthening Fundraising and Communication – A means to achieving sustainability
Another of the project’s key focuses was to strengthen the organisation’s fundraising and communication skills. According to project manager Janvier Ngabo, these capacity development measures had a significant impact, helping the organisation secure a new long-term project. In doing so, IKI Small Grants became a trailblazer in ensuring the sustainability of local initiatives.
The project targeted rural community members. It specifically addressed vulnerable groups, such as female headed households including single mothers or disabled and elderly people.
IPFG is a non-governmental organization founded in 2002 based in Nyamagabe District in Rwanda. All members are concerned about the welfare and full development of the family based on gender equality and the participation of men and women in all programmes aimed at strengthening fairness and democracy. Its mission is to promote and reinforce complementarity between man and woman and to encourage their participation in actions aimed at social and economic development.
In a recent visit to Kenya, German Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action, Robert Habeck, met with Help Self Help Centre, an NGO managing an IKI Small Grants funded reforestation project active in the Mount Kenya region. NGO representative, Lucy Muiruri, explained to the German minister how essential oils can help revitalize degraded land. With a budget of less than 90,000 euros, the organisation planted more than 150,000 indigenous trees through the IKI Small Grants project to restore the habitat for wildlife and trained over 1,300 members of the community in reforestation.
Forests act as natural carbon sinks that benefit the climate. The project creates an incentive not to cut down trees for firewood, as the local community is shown how tree parts can be used to make products. The planted trees produce essential oils, tea-like leaves or dyes for the paint industry and therefore serve as an additional source of income for the local population.
The project by the organisation HelpSelfHelp Centre serves as a model for integrating community involvement in forest restoration efforts. It highlights the significant role of local communities in achieving sustainable outcomes. The approaches and lessons learnt are shared with other reforestation initiatives in Kenya.
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With international support and local participation, projects like these can pave the way for sustainable environmental and economic development. Minister Habeck emphasized the importance of such projects in addressing the dual challenges of poverty and climate change.
Project impact
As the first funded project has been very successful, Help Self Help Centre has now received a second round of funding from IKI Small Grants. The team will extend its reforestation activities with the new funding.
Minister Habeck’s visit concluded with a pledge to continue fostering partnerships and supporting similar initiatives to ensure that reforestation efforts not only restore ecosystems, but also improve the livelihoods of local communities.
Help Self Help Centre is a Kenyan development agency, registered in 1993. Its mission is to work with smallholder farmers and the food and chemical industries to eradicate poverty and environmental degradation through sustainable management of natural resources. The organisation replants native trees that have a commercial value for local people. With this the organisation wants to protect and recreate original natural forests that address the habitat requirements of local wildlife. It further aims to plant commercial relevant tree species and ensure that communities protect those trees.
About IKI Small Grants
IKI Small Grants, implemented by the German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), funds local actors which are the driving force for change and essential for effective climate and biodiversity action worldwide. It is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI), which is jointly commissioned by three German Federal ministries. IKI Small Grants fosters bottom-up solutions while strengthening capacities of local actors.
On Tuesday 7th January and Monday 13th January 2025, IKI Small Grants is offering morning and afternoon online consultation sessions to provide guidance on filling in IKI Small Grants applications for the 6th Call for Proposals.
Organisations that have created an account and are about to submit their application are welcome to join either of the online consultation sessions to assist with their application process.
The sessions help potential applicants understand how to correctly complete the application form for their organisation to ensure they meet IKI’s guidelines and requirements.
Details
📅 Dates: 07.01.2025 & 13.01.2025
⏰ Times: Morning session between 9:00-10:00 CET and afternoon session between 16:00-17:00 CET
🖥️ Links:
Select the date for the morning 9:00 – 10:00 CET time slots
The sessions walk applicants through the specifics of filling in the IKI Small Grants application and elgibility check.
The sessions also provide opportunities for addressing any queries applicants have. The team at IKI Small Grants is also available at iki-small-grants@giz.de if you are encountering problems or have any questions.
