P4G Partnerships to Participate in High-level Workshops to Accelerate Green Growth

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On the sidelines of the UN Climate Change Summit this September, P4G will host three partnerships – The Zero Emission Bus Rapid-deployment Accelerator, Africa GreenCo and Sustainable Special Economic Zones – at acceleration workshops. The sessions will include 15-20 high level, business- and investor-focused participants, who will work with representatives from each partnership explore new strategies to fund, design and structure regional markets around the partnerships’ respective geographies and sustainable development focus areas.

The three partnerships chosen not only represent innovative solutions to the green economy, but also exemplify the P4G Way: a purpose-driven approach to success made possible through collaboration, story-sharing and trust. These partnerships' alignment with and buy-in to P4G's objectives have enabled early success: through on-the-ground action that is delivering upon promised solutions; buy-in from other investors, further guaranteeing their business model; and/or documented interest from potential future adopters of their approach. These milestones, in concert with P4G acceleration activities such as cross-sector engagement opportunities and events, has enabled these partnerships to come to life.

All three pose innovative solutions to different aspects that would contribute to a more sustainable economy – for instance, through the deployment of electric vehicles in cities across an entire region; through accessing one of the world’s readiest markets – renewable electricity access and provision in sub-Saharan Africa; or through the development of a model for sustainable special economic zones. Each has the potential to be scaled regionally and across the world. Learn more about these partnerships below:

The Zero Emission Bus Rapid-deployment Accelerator (ZEBRA)

Focused in Mexico City, Mexico, São Paulo, Brazil and Medellín, Colombia, this partnership is increasing each city’s adoption and deployment of electric buses across their respective public transit systems. And as this approach gains traction, the partnership will use Latin America as a laboratory for successful electric vehicle deployment in the public sphere. Ultimately, upon successful, initial implementation, cities worldwide will model this investment and deployment example for electric vehicles, sparking the evolution of an entire industry.

Africa GreenCo

Through Africa GreenCo’s position as a regional credit-worthy intermediary off-taker and power services provider in Zambia, the partnership reduces the credit risk for power suppliers looking to sell in the region while also making energy more affordable for governments – and thus individuals – to purchase. And with energy sources including wind, solar and geothermal rife across the sub-Saharan region, success and investment in Zambia could quickly escalate to demand in countries including South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia and others. The Africa GreenCo model, then, not only offers a practical solution; but also, an inspiring story for other nations, partnerships and businesses to replicate.

Sustainable Special Economic Zones (SSEZ)

The Sustainable Special Economic Zones aims to implement more environmentally- and socially- oriented practices and procedures in free-zone industrial parks across Africa. The partnership pilot, operating out of Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL) in Nigeria, is the first of its kind – promoting human rights, social benefits and curbing the environmental impact of industrial production, while aiming to extend economic growth and job creation beyond the enclave of the zone. Building upon successes at LADOL, the partnerships is seeking ways to share its story to gain the level of commercial investment and political buy-in that could help replicate their model in special economic zones and industrial parks across the world.

Each of these three partnerships presents examples of projects on the cusp of creating replicable and scalable change. As P4G Partnerships at the center of the acceleration workshops, these projects will provide the best examples of what it means to be engaged with P4G. Later this year, as we prepare to announce our 2019 cohort as well as plans for future funding applications periods, we will bring our envisioned value-add to fruition and prove that our “way” is the foundation for concrete outcomes, signifying a path to positive global change.We look forward to sharing more about how our continued close alignment will serve the recognition and adoption of partnership-driven approaches for green growth challenges globally.