On behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Allianz RE joined forces to support vulnerable communities in Morocco and Ghana in developing integrated risk management approaches for climate risks. In Morocco, the implemented risk management activities of this Public-Private Partnership are targeted at Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) located in Industrial Zones (IZ). The Ait Melloul Industrial Park was selected as a pilot IZ, because it has an economic value for the

MSMEs are one of the most important, yet vulnerable, drivers of development in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). This stems from the fact that, while micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are known to support over 50% of all livelihoods on the continent (both formal and informal), these firms often face a plethora of heterogenous risks that regularly put their survival and continuous operations in jeopardy. These risks can range from those faced uniquely at a firm level (such as credit, crime and infrastructural risks) to those endured at a much larger, systemic scale (such as climate

Climate change is manifested in Ghana through extreme weather events, especially flooding. The Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) is particularly exposed to these recurrent shocks threatening economic development and human lives. Many public assets and infrastructure are key to flood control and risk mitigation in urban areas, but at the same time can be severely affected by extreme weather events and climate risks themselves. However, in Ghana, most public assets and infrastructure are not insured. This might be due to a relatively low understanding of insurance and the unavailability of

Urban flooding is a significant issue in Ghana, particularly in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA). Government agencies and municipalities seek to minimize damage from natural disasters, also for their public assets, through a variety of prevention measures. Nevertheless, a residual risk will always remain. Risk transfer within an Integrated Disaster Risk Management (IDRM) is central. For the development of an insurance product for public infrastructure assets various information about them, such as their value as well as their precise locations and previous flood occurrences for the

Cities experience serious incidents that prevent them from continuing their normal functioning. Such incidences can range from flood or fire to severe outbreaks of epidemics. During such emergencies, the affected cities are saddled with increased risks, mainly when the disaster management team is not well prepared to anticipate, cope with, respond to, and help in the recovery of the affected communities. City authorities have a constitutional responsibility to recover from such incidents in the minimum amount of time, with minimum disruption and at minimum cost. The ability of Metropolitan

A risk profile of a public asset is an evaluation of the probability of the asset getting damaged depending on its exposure and vulnerability to a hazard. This determines potential risk reduction measures and the estimation of funds needed to protect the public asset, as a way of mitigating potential risks and threats. In addition, if there should be any residual risk after taking the necessary adaptation measures, these risks can then be transferred to third parties such as insurance companies. It is in public authority’s best interest to be proactive when it comes to risk profiling its

The Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) suffers from rainrelated floods almost every year. This development is likely the result of several factors, including a rapid expansion of sealed-off surface, unplanned urbanization, weak infrastructure, inefficient waste collection and disposal system, as well as a changing climate with more intense rainfall events compared with earlier decades. GAMA is the economic hub of Ghana and is made of 29 metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies with an estimated 5.1 million inhabitants – making it the seventh-largest metropolitan area in Africa1

Rapid urban expansion in Ghana is impacting the environmental liveability and sustainability of the region. Measures to protect urban residents from emergencies and natural disasters are not keeping pace with this growth. Environmental risks such as floods and extreme heat have the potential to affect citizens’ livelihoods and health, damage infrastructure, and disrupt critical services. To respond to these risks, public authorities and other stakeholders must be better trained in risk management within an urban environment context. Urban resilience training and disaster risk management (DRM)