Climate analytics to de-risk adaptation investment in Rwanda

The Rwanda Adaptation Accelerator Program (RAAP) is a collaborative initiative led by the Rwanda Green Fund, with support from CGIAR’s ImpactSF and funded by the Gates Foundation, designed to strengthen the climate resilience of Rwanda’s agriculture sector. It targets Agri-SMEs and agritech startups, equipping them with tools to integrate adaptation into their operations and build investable, climate-smart business models. The program operates through structured acceleration cycles that deliver scientific coaching, tailored technical assistance, and investment readiness support. RAAP builds on ClimARM’s investment blueprints and promotes solutions in irrigation, livestock, agroforestry, and climate services. These blueprints identified investment opportunities aligned with Rwanda’s development priorities including: 

RAAP operates through structured cohort-based acceleration cycles, each designed to deliver targeted technical assistance, investment readiness support, and climate adaptation analytics to Agri-SMEs in cohorts as follows: 

In its first cohort (2024–2025), RAAP supported 31 Agri-SMEs, with 9 receiving grants to scale their CSA innovations. These participants have since leveraged $2.8M in follow-on capital. The second cohort, launched under the AgriTech4Rwanda Innovation Challenge (2025–2026), focuses on digital, tech-driven adaptation tools. RAAP also emphasizes gender inclusion, public-private collaboration, and alignment with Rwanda’s climate priorities, while de-risking adaptation investments and fostering an enabling environment for sustainable agricultural transformation.