Lesotho urged to turn climate innovations into business

Staff Reporter

LESOTHO must move beyond climate research and ideas and build an environment in which local innovations can grow into viable businesses, jobs and practical solutions to climate change, government and United Nations officials have said.

The call came at the inception and stakeholder engagement workshop for a new five-year, US$10 million climate project in Maseru on Friday.

The project, Promoting Climate Adaptation and Resilience through Innovation and Entrepreneurship for Clean Jobs, falls under the United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s (UNIDO) Programme for Innovation in Climate Adaptation and Resilience Building Solutions (PARS).

Minister of Law and Justice, Richard Ramoeletsi, who spoke on behalf of Environment and Forestry Minister Thabo Mofosi, said climate change was already affecting livelihoods, food and water security, infrastructure, health and economic growth.

He said Lesotho’s dependence on climate-sensitive sectors had left the country exposed to droughts, floods, storms, land degradation, water scarcity and declining agricultural productivity.

“These are not merely environmental concerns,” Mr Ramoeletsi said, adding that rural communities, women, young farmers and other vulnerable groups bore much of the burden.

He said the project would support climate adaptation and resilience solutions in the water, energy and agriculture sectors while promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. It should also help create an enabling environment for innovation by improving access to climate information, finance and appropriate technologies.

Maqhanole Tsekoa, Director of the Department of Business Development within Lesotho’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Business Development, went further. He said the country needed to review the policies and regulations that slow an innovation’s journey from testing and certification to standardisation and, ultimately, the market.

Mr Tsekoa said the government’s procurement policies should also be reviewed so that the state could help create markets for locally developed climate solutions.

He said finance was key, and called for climate finance to be mobilised and for closer collaboration among government, academia, the private sector and financial institutions.

He challenged academic institutions to stop producing research papers for their own sake and to use their research to solve the country’s practical problems.

Mr Tsekoa also demanded clarity on the project’s participation targets for women, men and youth. He said the intended ratios should be clearly defined to ensure meaningful inclusion.

Caterina Bianco, UNIDO’s PARS project manager, said the programme was designed for businesses that had promising climate solutions but lacked the technical and financial support to turn their ideas into viable enterprises.

She gave the example of a small business that had developed an irrigation solution for farmers but lacked the support to commercialise it.

Ms Bianco said the Lesotho project would focus on climate resilience in water, energy and agriculture, with micro, small and medium enterprises playing a central role.

UNIDO will provide technical expertise and oversight. The Lesotho Meteorological Services, under the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, will serve as the executing agency.

PARS is funded by the Global Environment Facility through the Least Developed Countries Fund. The US$47 million programme covers six African countries: Angola, Ethiopia, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi and Somalia.

Ms Bianco said the programme would allow participating countries to share lessons and successful innovations. This would give Lesotho an opportunity to develop solutions that could be replicated elsewhere.

The project is ultimately expected to reduce Lesotho’s climate vulnerability by backing locally driven innovations and moving adaptation solutions from ideas and prototypes into practical use.