The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded more than USD300,000 to the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Finance Corporation (SDFC), a leading financial institution assisting micro, small and medium enterprises, and FJS Consulting, a business development firm, to support climate resilience interventions in the Maldives.
In a statement, the United States (US) Mission to the Maldives said USAID will provide a USD86,000 grant to SDFC to become the first Maldivian organisation to be accredited as a national implementing entity that can directly access funding from the Green Climate Fund. The Green Climate Fund is the financial mechanism established under the United Nations (UN) Framework for Climate Change to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change.
Furthermore, USAID also provided a USD204,000 grant to FJS Consulting to design an enterprise development programme to identify and rapidly develop innovative climate-smart solutions that reduce the risk of climate-driven impacts on tourism, fisheries, and agriculture associated investments.
Speaking at the award ceremony, Sri Lanka and Maldives Mission Director Gabriel Grau said USAID is committed to improving the lives and livelihoods of the people of the Maldives. In this regard, he said USAID collaborates with the private sector to co-create and co-fund innovative solutions to climate change and revitalise key economic sectors in the Maldives.
USAID awarded the grants, the first of a series, through the USAID Climate Adaptation activity. The $10.5 million, five-year activity will strengthen the resilience of the Maldives to climate risk. The initiative supports the Strategic Action Plan Policy of the Government of Maldives to create resilient communities in the face of the climate change crisis.