The first WACA Marketplace will be held on November 18th,19th in Cote d’Ivoire by INVITATION ONLY.

The WACA Marketplace responds to countries’ request to simplify the process for mobilizing investments in coastal resilience, as envisioned by the WACA Platform. It will be an opportunity for countries to pitch their highest priority investment needs and for partners to begin a dialogue with countries to identify potential new projects and ways to collaborate. 

We expect the event to help align country and financial partner priorities, trigger a constructive dialogue and start project design and financing processes that can be supported by the WACA Platform. 

The Marketplace sessions will feature:

• Country pitches on priority investment projects from representatives of ministries in charge of Environment and Finance;
• Pitches from private sector representatives for resilience-building investment needs and potential public-private partnerships;

The event will also feature consultations and technical working sessions on related WACA initiatives including:

• Civil society consultations as part of WACA’s Local Action and Citizen Engagement (LACE) initiative;
• Private sector workshop to define innovative financing mechanisms to further engage the private sector for strengthened coastal resilience 
• Technical consultations on the preparation of the Compendium of Good Coastal Management Practices in West Africa led by the Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD) and the University of Cape Coast (UCC), Ghana; and on the regional mapping of knowledge stakeholders led by UCC; and 
• Presentation of the proposed Abidjan Convention Resource Center.