Transition to climate-friendly agricultural value chain by empowering women’s access to sustainable energy in Morocco – GCF proposal

The “Transition to Climate-Friendly Agricultural Value Chain by Empowering Women’s Access to Sustainable Energy in Morocco” program aims to mobilize end-user financing for women’s access to small-scale renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies for use in the agriculture value chain. It addresses gender-specific barriers—including women’s limited access to finance and lack of technical, business, and financial skills—as well as gender-based energy policies, and raises awareness about women’s involvement in sustainable energy in semi-urban and rural areas. Although commercially available, uptake of these technologies is constrained by high capital costs and lack of financing options.

To support the development of this proposal to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), ACS developed an pipeline of projects by target beneficiaries in the Drâa-Tafilalet region. This pipeline will feed into the feasibility assessment and full project proposal to be submitted to the GCF. The proposal will directly contribute to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on Gender Equality (SDG 5) and Affordable and Clean Energy (SDG 7), which in turn will have multiplier effects and contribute towards reaching ten other SDGs, particularly by improving livelihoods, health, education, and economic growth, and by increasing access to water and job opportunities.

Client: UN Environment, UN Women

  • Duration: 2021

Activities

  • Provided a detailed profile of cross section of cooperatives in Errachidia and Ouarzazate, including size, members (aggregated by gender), financial information (sales, profit, types of products, revenues generated), financing needs, technical needs, observations on yields and rainfall, and indirect beneficiaries;
  • Developed a $30 million pipeline of projects as requested by the GCF to feed into the funding proposal;
  • Established stakeholder mapping of cooperatives and sustainable agriculture initiatives in the region.