Africa Green Growth.
Sustainable Development: The Water-Energy-Food Nexus

In recent years, the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus approach has become an integral part of international development agendas (14 out of 17 SDGs are interlinked or have repercussions on the water-energy-food nexus) and in the narrative of international and financial institutions. But why is this happening? The WEF Nexus approach considers how water, energy, and food systems are connected and can reveal business models that respond to essential development needs. If applied and scaled up, these business models can increase economic productive capacity and drive socio-economic welfare in support of countries’ ability to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Indeed, the African Continent is already among the most impacted areas by climate change. It is estimated that by 2030 Africa’s water consumption will increase by 283% compared to 2005 levels; food demand by 60% compared to 2015 levels, and electricity demand by 70% compared to 2016 levels. The interlinkages captured by the WEF Nexus offer a ground-breaking perspective to increase access to clean energy combined with securing water and food. As such, the WEF Nexus can reveal business models that look at how water, energy and food can be connected to respond to essential development needs, increasing economic productive capacities and driving socio-economic welfare while reducing trade-offs and sustaining an efficient and sustainable use of limited natural resources. RES4Africa and Ecomondo organize this event to present and discuss the state of the art in the nexus "scene”, analysing existing business models and financing mechanisms to provide a solid understanding of the current opportunities and open issues in the African Continent to deploy integrated projects from agrivoltaics to precision irrigation and cold storage solutions.

Programme

> 2:00 – 2:30 PM
Opening remarks
R. Vigotti, RES4Africa – Secretary General
A. Biancardi, GSE – Head of Studies, Monitoring and International Relations

> 2:30 – 2:45 PM
Institutional representative
A. Muriithi, Agriculture Attache at the Kenya Embassy and Alternate Permanent Representative to the  United Nations Rome Based Agencies

> 2:45 – 3:45
PANEL
The Water-Energy-Food Nexus: development opportunities and available financing mechanisms applied to WEF projects

Moderator and key note speaker:
D. Guzzo, RES4Africa Foundation – WEF lead specialist

Speakers:
Grammenos Mastrojeni, UfM – Senior Deputy Secretary General
Elizabeth Nsimadala, Eastern African Farmers Organization (EAFF) – President
Djibril Diagne, African Development Bank - Principal Water and Sanitation Engineer – Regional Coordinator Central Zone
Gustave Aboua, Ministry of Environment and Development of Ivory Coast – Director

> 3:45 – 4:45 PM
PANEL
Do Water – Energy – Food solutions work? A deep dive into the most promising technologies in the African Region

Moderator and key note speaker:
R. Jreich, RES4Africa Foundation – MENA Region lead specialist

Speakers
Daniela Anghileri, European Commission Joint Research Centre
Khalid Salmi, RCREEE – Energy Management Expert
Ghada Moghny, Programme Coordinator, Sustainable Growth Programme, CEDARE Egypt - Center for Environment & Development for the Arab Region and Europe
Carlo Tacconelli, Engreen – Co-founder and CEO

> Q&A

> 5:15 – 5:30 PM
End of Work