Women ADAPT - Catalyzing Women-Focused Climate-Smart Investments

Women ADAPT aims to strengthen the climate resilience of women-led enterprises and smallholder farmers in agricultural value chains by improving access to climate-smart technologies, tailored financial services, climate information, and market linkages, thereby enabling them to adapt to climate risks, improve livelihoods, and contribute to sustainable economic development. 

The programme will focus on four main objectives: 

• Improve access by women-led MSMEs and smallholder farmers to digital platforms providing climate information, technologies, and market linkages. 

• Strengthen knowledge, financial access, and adoption of climate-smart agriculture by women-led MSMEs, cooperatives, and smallholder farmers. 

• Support MFIs, cooperatives, and women-led MSMEs to adopt climate risk management frameworks and improve climate-resilient service delivery. 

• Track, document, and share programme learning, results, good practices, and adaptation knowledge across stakeholders and platforms.  

The programme will deploy an integrated, locally anchored adaptation approach structured around three mutually reinforcing pathways: 

• Access Pathway – Improve women’s access to climate-smart technologies, services, finance, and markets through digital solutions, targeted subsidies, and tailored financial products.  

• Capacity and Agency Pathway – Strengthen the resilience, skills, and agency of women-led MSMEs and cooperatives through gender-responsive training in climate-smart agriculture, financial literacy, and participatory learning.  

• Institutional Resilience Pathway – Reinforce the institutional capacity of key local actors, including MFIs, cooperatives, and enterprises, to assess climate risks and integrate adaptation considerations into their business models, products, and service delivery.  

 

Women ADAPT will use competitive, transparent selection processes to identify digital platform partners and to award climate adaptation support to eligible women-led MSMEs, cooperatives, and smallholder farmers. 

Priority will be given to interventions in climate-vulnerable areas that demonstrate clear adaptation benefits and comply with the programme’s environmental and social safeguards. 

 

Digital Access to Climate Information and Markets 

Women ADAPT will support the deployment of digital platforms to improve access to climate information for women-led MSMEs and smallholder farmers. The platforms will provide women-led MSMEs and smallholder farmers with access to climate-smart agriculture tools, real-time weather and seasonal forecasts, early warning information, and market intelligence tailored to their crops, locations, and business needs. 

The programme will also strengthen digital literacy by training participating MSMEs and women farmers to use these platforms effectively to make informed, climate-smart decisions. 

 Capacity Strengthening and Knowledge Generation 

Women ADAPT will strengthen the technical and business capacities of women entrepreneurs and key ecosystem actors through practical training on climate-smart agriculture, financial literacy, and climate-resilient business planning. 

The programme will also generate and disseminate knowledge products that capture lessons, good practices, and evidence from implementation to support wider adoption of climate adaptation approaches across the agricultural sector. 

Targeted Climate-Smart Agriculture Support 

The programme will provide targeted financial support to women-led MSMEs and cooperatives to accelerate the adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) technologies and practices. This support will help address upfront investment barriers while promoting practical adaptation solutions that improve productivity, strengthen resilience, and reduce climate-related risks. 

Supported investments may include: 

• Efficient irrigation systems, including drip irrigation and solar pumps; 

• Drought-resistant seed varieties and climate-resilient cropping systems; 

• Modular post-harvest storage solutions; 

• Solar-powered cold chains or drying equipment; 

• Soil fertility enhancement and organic composting systems; 

• Agroforestry or integrated farming systems; 

• Early warning system devices or weather monitoring kits. 

Climate Risk Management for MFIs, Cooperatives, and MSMEs 

Women ADAPT will strengthen the capacity of microfinance institutions, cooperatives, and women-led MSMEs to identify and manage climate-related risks. Using a locally adapted climate risk assessment toolkit, participating institutions will integrate climate considerations into business planning, product design, and service delivery, enabling more resilient and responsive financial and cooperative services for women entrepreneurs. 

Across all activities, Women ADAPT will integrate gender-responsive and environmentally sustainable approaches. Supported MSMEs and cooperatives will be encouraged to strengthen climate-resilient business models, create green jobs, adopt climate-smart technologies, and improve their capacity to manage environmental and climate-related risks. 

Through this integrated approach, Women ADAPT will strengthen the resilience of women-led enterprises, cooperatives, financial institutions, and smallholder farmers while contributing to more inclusive and climate-resilient agricultural value chains in Benin and Burkina Faso.   

The programme is expected to directly reach at least 4,600 women, including women entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers. The programme will also engage women-led cooperatives, microfinance institutions, extension service providers, and other ecosystem partners to expand the reach and sustainability of climate adaptation solutions.  

• At least 4,600 women reached directly.

• At least 90 hectares of land brought under climate-resilient management.

• 4,676 people trained in climate-resilient practices, with a 50% female participation target.

• At least 20 women-led MSMEs and cooperatives supported to strengthen climate resilience. 

• 14 MFIs and cooperatives with climate risk management frameworks integrated into their operations.