Tag: cooperation

Canada and Germany join forces with Nigeria to support local women entrepreneurs

Written by Bosse Klama on 13. January 2026. Posted in News.

Global Affairs Canada (GAC), the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN), and Germany’s International Climate Initiative (IKI) are partnering to make climate and biodiversity financing available for women-led businesses in Nigeria.

With Canada committing 5 million Canadian dollars – which equals 3.4 million euros – in co-financing, the cooperation builds on the IKI Small Grants “Funding the Funders” approach, enabling local actors to access climate and biodiversity financing through funding institutions in partner countries. With Canada’s financial contribution and Germany’s technical support through the IKI Small Grants programme, the initiative will run until August 2029, allowing the Development Bank of Nigeria to establish a funding programme across the country. The state-owned bank will provide small grants and targeted trainings to women-led micro, small and medium enterprises.

These measures are intended to ensure that companies contribute to climate and biodiversity protection with their products or services, reduce their carbon emissions, and better manage the impacts of climate change. The collaboration aims to reach 5,000 businesses, resulting in approximately 25,000 indirect beneficiaries, including community members. All 5,000 enterprises will receive capacity development, and the 240 most promising ones will be selected for additional seed funding to further enhance their businesses.

The focus is on rural regions, where women in particular are struggling with the consequences of climate change while lacking access to the funds needed to address local effects. For DBN’s managing director, Dr. Tony Okpanachi, achieving social impact through funding is one of the bank’s main objectives.

Dr. Tony Okpanachi is managing director of the DBN.

Bringing funding to local women entrepreneurs

“This partnership with Global Affairs Canada and IKI Small Grants allows us to reach women entrepreneurs who face barriers to accessing climate financing in Nigeria,” says Theresa Lawal, Head of Product Development & Strategic Alliances at DBN. Through the co-financing from Canada, Germany’s IKI Small Grants can support DBN in providing grants for women-led micro, small or medium enterprises – putting them in a better position to adapt to impacts of climate change while growing their business and contributing to the economy.

“Imagine a woman running an off-grid business adopting solar solutions, or a smallholder farmer transitioning to climate-smart agriculture,” Theresa Lawal describes the target group. “Women in Nigeria receive less than 20% of available funding. This programme will increase financial inclusion, enhance women’s contribution to climate action, and improve their ability to adapt to climate change.”

Theresa Lawal is Head of Product Development and Strategic Alliances at DBN.

Fostering local impact through global partnerships

For Global Affairs Canada, the significance of the initiative lies in its commitment to gender equality, climate action, and economic empowerment in Africa. Arash Irantalab, Head of Development Cooperation at the High Commission of Canada in Nigeria emphasises, “Canada works with African partners by increasing mutually beneficial economic opportunities and advancing key priorities on the international stage to address global challenges, including climate change.”

The decision to work with IKI Small Grants was based on the requirement “to partner with an initiative that has proven to be effective and successful – thus building on global partnerships for better results in local development.”

Arash Irantalab works at the High Commission of Canada in Nigeria.

Localising access to empower community-led climate and biodiversity action

As various international agreements state, local climate and biodiversity action is essential for global transformation. As one of its financing mechanisms, IKI Small Grants funds national or regional institutions that channel small grants directly to local actors. Simply put, IKI Small Grants “funds the funders”.

Working with Canadian co-financing channelled through IKI Small Grants, the Development Bank of Nigeria can plan and run a national funding programme, choose the recipients of the small grants and process payouts, while addressing them in their local language and lowering the administrative hurdles for accessing climate financing.

David Fuchs is programme director at IKI Small Grants.

About the project

This project is co-financed by Global Affairs Canada and implemented within the IKI Small Grants programme strengthening local solutions for effective climate and biodiversity action. IKI Small Grants is funded by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety and run by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH. It is part of Germany‘s International Climate Initiative (IKI).

More info: Boosting Leadership in Climate Action Amongst Nigeria’s Female Entrepreneurs | IKI Small Grants

Find out more about the Funding the Funders approach in this video:

More about the project:

From diesel to solar – Botswana’s farms go green

Written by Bosse Klama on 19. March 2025. Posted in News.

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.

Gorata Abotseng Lekau owns and runs Segogora Holdings and received a grant from National Development Bank. © NDB

Small grants for smallholders

For Ketumile Direng, responsible for mobilising resources and project management at the National Development Bank (NDB), this is the sort of shift the bank wanted to promote. “We want to transition the farming community to employ more green farming practices.” In 2022, NDB teamed up with IKI Small Grants in Germany to acquire €850,000 in funding for the bank’s call for proposals of its programme Green Energy Transition for Sustainable Agriculture.

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.

Ketumile Direng is responsible for mobilising resources and project management at Botswana’s National Development Bank. © NDB

Sustainable solutions for sustainable agriculture

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.”

On her farm in Botswana’s Central District, Tshenko Kabelano Magapu improved water and energy efficiency and now grows more crops with support from NDB. © NDB

More about the project

Green energy transition for sustainable agriculture | IKI Small Grants

ABOUT THE ORGANISATION

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.

Links

Website National Development Bank of Botswana