State and Trends in Adaptation 2021 combines in-depth analyses, case studies, and viewpoints from those on the frontlines of climate change impacts in Africa. It presents a detailed blueprint for action: offering innovative adaptation and resilience ideas, solutions, and policy recommendations. The results are clear and compelling. Adaptation measures can be enormously cost effective and have the potential to start a positively reinforcing cycle of benefits. As these measures protect people and communities from floods, droughts, and others impacts, they also help lift people out of poverty, reduce hunger and undernourishment, raise incomes and living standards, fight diseases, create jobs, reduce inequality, mitigate the risk of conflicts, and give voice to the most vulnerable. These realizable results, in turn, further increase resilience to climate impacts.

The event, held at the University of Nairobi’s Taifa Hall on October 26, 2021, the leaders called for COP26 and development partners to increase resources to the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP). They include Ban Ki-moon, 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations, Chair of GCA, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank Group, Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Dr. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund, Keriako Tobiko, Cabinet Secretary for the  Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Kenya and Prof. Stephen Kiama, Vice-Chancellor, University of Nairobi, Prof. Dr. Patrick Verkooijen, Chief Executive Officer, Global Center on Adaptation.

In his speech, President Kenyatta cautioned that in the absence of urgent climate change adaptation action, Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) risks contracting by up to 30 percent by the year 2050.

“Evidence indicates that climate change will have a devastating socioeconomic impact across the world and quite severely in Africa. If we do not take any action Africa could, as a consequence, see its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contract by up to 30 percent by 2050 due to climate change,” the President said.

Consequently, the President rallied the global community to support the accelerated roll out of adaptation programmes in Africa so as to mitigate against the growing adverse effects of climate change as well as strengthen the continent’s resilience.

“While it is relatively more difficult to design and implement adaptation projects and while fewer resources are currently available for adaptation, we should not lose sight of the fact that adaptation is, without doubt, smart economics,” he said. “To make this paradigm shift, we will lean on our institutions of higher learning. The University of Nairobi is one of the few African Universities, that offer graduate programmes in climate adaptation. It demonstrates the importance of Government of Kenya attaches to the issue of adaptation. I am hoping that this session, will open new opportunities to the University of Nairobi and the other forward learning institutions in our country”

The Innovation for African Universities (IAU)) Programme kicked off in September 2021 with the 24 projects that were successful in their application to join the programme.  The vision of the IAU Programme is to increase entrepreneurship, enterprise and employability of graduates from African Universities.  The projects are drawn from universities and entrepreneurial ecosystem from Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and Kenya, who have teamed up with universities from the UK.  The programme is run under the auspices of the British Council.

The projects look at various issues that affect communities within the four sub-Sahara Africa countries.  Project cover a wide range challenge such as exploration of barriers and opportunities for current and latent social entrepreneurs in South Africa, accelerating youth entrepreneurship in tourism in Kenya, problems facing agri-business in Ghana from a logistics perspective and advancing innovative entrepreneurship education and digital skills in the youth in Nigeria

In the first session of workshops, participants have been able to get insights on how to deepen their understanding of the context of their projects. In the session led by Dr. Sara Jones, from City University of London, participants looked at the progress needed and barriers in the way of this projects, in their context.  During the workshop participants also had the opportunity to share the big picture on the current situation in the 4 SSA countries with regard to youth employment, student employability, small business needs, self-employment and the current status of higher education institution entrepreneurship and innovation initiatives. 

The second session provided participants with the opportunity to deepen their understanding of their stakeholders.  Presenting during the workshop, Dr. Samuel Ruhiu from computing for development {C4D lab )University of Nairobi, shared powerful insights on the Empathy Map which is the process of understanding the stakeholder persona and the need to carefully evaluate what the needs and struggles of the stakeholders are.  Dr. Ruhiu underscored the importance of understanding the needs of the users, the need to see through their eyes what they value and what is stopping them from achieving it. 

The third workshop allowed representatives of three projects one from Nigeria, Ghana, and Kenya to share their project innovation challenge with other community of practice members in the programme. Dr Thea van der Westhuizen from University Kwazulu-Natal School of management, IT, and governance was the guest speaker and shared insights on how co-creation of curriculum and inspiring the learners can lead to employability and innovation with social impact