On April 14 and 15, the official closing events of the training phase of the MEbA Biodiversity Platform were held, one for Latin America and one for West Africa. The events provided a holistic picture of the MEbA approach as an example of a desirable and timely embodiment of green inclusive and climate adaptation finance for smallholder farmers. The events saw contributions from institutions like UNEP, the Global Environment Facility (The GEF), BNP Paribas, Fondation Credit Grameen Agricole, Fundacion Microfinanzas BBVA, Oikocredit and SIDI.
One highlight was the statements of participating institutions, like ASEI, Finca Peru, CAURIE or PAMECAS sharing their experience with the new and innovative tool. Another was the official announcement of the ” Climate and Biodiversity Positive Initiative for Smallholder Finance” provided the right perspective for the future as stronger collaboration, also among investors, is urgently needed to advance the sector. Tools, like the MEbA Biodiversity Platform, are crucial for such support by re-financing institutions as they provide the needed metrics to verify green loans and measure the impact on climate and biodiversity of investments.
The virtual events transmitted the experience developed throughout the project and put them into context of the urgent global efforts to increase the financing for adaptation. Also, the winning institutions for the continued free use of the MEbA Biodiversity platform were announced during the events. These were: ASEI (El Salvador), Finca Peru (Peru), Interactuar (Colombia), Banco Fie (Bolivia), Contactar (Colombia) as well as Group Baobab (Ivory Coast) and PAMECAS (Senegal)
Video of the event for Latin America:
Biodiversity Platform
The Biodiversity Platform is sponsored by BNP Paribas and provided by YAPU Solutions, as part of the Microfinance for Ecosystem-based Adaptation (MEbA) project, implemented by UN Environment and financed by BMU Germany.
The project officially started in October 2020. It was developed in three stages: preparation phase, training and adoption, and use of the tool. In total there are 35 participating institutions in 11 countries in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa.
The digital tool provided by YAPU Solutions allows for improved digital analysis, the integration of climate and biodiversity risks into credit decisions and laying the groundwork for qualifying for green credit lines. The credit analysis includes climate and biodiversity indicators developed from the MEbA project experience.
How does the biodiversity platform work?
The platform can be accessed by Assessors through a web interface or through a free Android APP to collect field data from clients. The data is entered into the platform by means of a questionnaire and the interface collects all relevant agricultural information. With all this information, a detailed report is generated including the verification of green microcredit, biodiversity indicators, climate indicators and cash flows. This additional information allows MFIs to state the impact of their lending decisions in a structured format.
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