Economics & Development

The development objective of the Palestinian Emergency Financing Facility Project is to contribute to service delivery in the West Bank. This paper seeks the approval for the sixth Additional Financing (AF) grant of 20 million US dollars for the project. The sixth AF seeks to respond to the urgent needs of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to maintain delivery of public services. The sixth AF is a scale-up of the parent project and the five previous AF operations. The sixth AF will contribute to the payment of salaries of education and health sector employees, covering additional months, ensuring a continued provision of education and health services in the West Bank. This operation is focused on the West Bank and does not include any operational activities or financial transfers to Gaza. The sixth AF will have the same PDO, components, and closing date as the previous PEFF operations. The Project Development Objective (PDO) “to contribute to service delivery in the West Bank” and the two components of the project will remain the same. In addition, there will be no change to the current closing date of December 31, 2026.

Cubango-Okavango River Basin (CORB): Financing Innovation in Transboundary Waters for Angola, Botswana, and Namibia has the development objective to support the capitalization of the Cubango-Okavango River Basin Fund (CORB Fund) towards sustainable development in the Cubango-Okavango River Basin (CORB). Component 1. CORB Fund Capitalization strengthens and operationalizes the CORB Fund and advances collaboration for its long-term sustainability. Sub-components include: 1.1 Establishment and implementation of governance and operational systems to staff key Secretariat positions, build capacity on innovative financing and stakeholder engagement, and establish procurement, financial management, human resources, and environmental and social systems with gender inclusion; 1.2 Stakeholder coordination to convene donor coordination mechanisms, basin-wide forums and roundtables, conduct roadshows with traditional and non-traditional partners, and institute regular engagement among the Permanent Okavango River Basin Water Commission (OKACOM), member states, ministers of finance, and international cooperation partners; 1.3 Communications and knowledge management to implement the CORB Fund communication strategy and facilitate knowledge exchange, including through the International Waters Learning Exchange and Resource Network (IWLEARN); 1.4 Capitalization of the Endowment Fund through seed capital and establishment of an Investment Committee, investment policy and guidelines, a custodian account, and engagement of a professional fund manager to ensure sound asset management and governance. Component 2. CORB Fund Pipeline of Potential Investment develops a robust pipeline aligned with OKACOM priorities and strengthens the evidence base for biodiversity-informed investments. Sub-components include: 2.1 Preparation of the CORB Fund financing roadmap and concepts for investment at pre-feasibility and feasibility, including market sounding on financing needs and instruments, prioritization with member states, and preparation of studies with economic and financial analyses and environmental and social assessments that integrate climate resilience, gender, and the inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities to attract co-financing; 2.2 Enhanced capacity on the economics of biodiversity through a basin-wide study valuing key ecosystem services, a biodiversity–livelihood investment case, capacity building to integrate biodiversity valuation into national policies and CORB Fund investment criteria, and regional guidelines to operationalize biodiversity valuation with gender-responsive and socially inclusive considerations. Component 3. Project Management and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) supports implementation and performance tracking through Secretariat project management functions, audits, office operations, and a results-based M&E system that includes an inception workshop, periodic Project Steering Committee meetings, and midterm and completion evaluations, with gender-responsive indicators and sex-disaggregated data collection.

The good and promising practices presented in this section were identified through the desk review, online surveys with OPDs and disaster risk management authorities, and inputs from the consultative workshop. They are presented country by country.

Transforming High-Potential Resilient Value Chains (M-THRiVE) for Malawi has the development objectives of increasing firm growth and access to finance for targeted firms in Malawi’s export value chains. Component 1: Strengthening Value Chains for Exports supports entry and survival of new and returning exporters and lowers regulatory costs through three Sub-components. Sub-component 1.1: Export Readiness Program with performance-based grants provides a phased package of cohort training, firm-level advisory, credit clinics with Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs), and reimbursable matching support tied to verified milestones to help firms secure buyers, meet standards, and diversify products and markets, with dedicated outreach for women-led firms. Sub-component 1.2: Technical Assistance to the Ministry of Industrialization, Business, Trade and Tourism (MoIBTT) updates trade policy instruments, develops data tools and dashboards, streamlines and digitalizes export licensing for priority value chains, and strengthens transparency in exporter-facing processes. Sub-component 1.3: Performance Based Condition (PBC) supports institutionalizing a predictable, rules-based regime under the Control of Goods Act (COGA) through a ministerial directive, structured reviews, and public disclosure of a revised export restrictions list, verified by an Independent Verification Agent (IVA). Component 2: Financing Exporters and Productive Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) expands tailored, de-risked finance through two Sub-components. Sub-component 2.1: Access to finance for export value chains establishes a portfolio Partial Credit Guarantee Facility (PCGF), including a shock-responsive climate risk financing window co-financed with the Global Shield Financing Facility (GSFF), and provides local currency Lines of Credit (LOCs) for working capital and climate-resilient investments and a foreign exchange LOC for import letters of credit for critical inputs, with differentiated coverage and portfolio incentives for women- and youth-led borrowers. Sub-component 2.2: Technical Assistance to the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM), the Malawi Agricultural and Industrial Investment Corporation (MAIIC), and the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralization (MoFEPD) develops the PCGF manual and lender oversight, strengthens climate risk financing policy and market frameworks, and completes feasibility and implementation arrangements for the shock-responsive mechanism. Component 3: Project Management Support to the Project Implementation Unit builds implementation capacity at RBM for fiduciary, monitoring and evaluation, and verification functions, enhances environmental and social compliance, and coordinates stakeholders to ensure timely delivery and results tracking.

This document outlines the monitoring indicators for Phase 3 (2025–2030) of the Sahel Adaptive Social Protection Program (SASPP). Building on earlier phases that established Adaptive Social Protection systems and tested innovative approaches, Phase 3 focuses on scaling up sustainable systems to strengthen poor households’ resilience to climate and other shocks. It supports Sahelian countries through four building blocks: institutional arrangements and partnerships, program delivery systems, data and information, and finance.