Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA)

What Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA) does

AICCRA (Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa) is a non-profit development project established in 2020 and operated under the CGIAR system, led by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT (with the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) taking the lead on the FSRP IV phase). The project scales climate-smart agriculture and climate information services for smallholder farmers across six focus countries (Senegal, Mali, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia) and two regional initiatives (East and Southern Africa, West Africa). AICCRA delivers through partnerships with CGIAR research centers, regional bodies (CORAF, ASARECA, CCARDESA, IGAD/ICPAC, AGRHYMET, WASCAL, RUFORUM), national institutions, universities, farmer organizations, and private sector actors.

The project's core products are the Innovation Catalogue (a living record of climate-smart innovations), the Scaling Playbook (a guide for responsible scaling), AgData Hubs (national climate-agriculture data platforms using APIs to connect ministries, NGOs, research institutes, and statistical departments), and the DACAS Network for digital agro-climate advisory services across IGAD Member States. Supporting products include the RiceAdvice digital decision-support tool, interactive reporting dashboards (OICRs, Deliverables), Climate-Smart Agriculture Investment Plans (Ethiopia CSAIP identifies $26.4 million in investment potential), the Gender-Smart Accelerator Challenge for women-led SMEs (de-risking grants up to US$25,000), Climate Risk Management curricula, and policy briefs (e.g., Senegal's National Action Plan on Gender, Climate Change and Agriculture).

AICCRA does not sell products or services commercially. Its entire operating model is funded by grants from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank: an initial $60 million grant approved in December 2020, $100 million in additional financing committed at COP28 (2023), and $46 million for AICCRA-FSRP4 approved in March 2026, co-financed with the PHRD Global South Pillar and Food Systems 2030 Multi-Donor Trust Fund. The project implements four priority areas — sharing knowledge, building partnerships, scaling innovation, and fostering gender and social inclusion — and has reached 11.6 million beneficiaries, 309 institutional partners, and 18.6 million people with strengthened resilience (2021–2025).

Name

Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA)

Legal name

Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA)

Website

https://aiccra.cgiar.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

AICCRA is a non-profit CGIAR project that scales climate-smart agriculture and climate information services for smallholder farmers across six African countries via the Innovation Catalogue, AgData Hubs, and a 309-partner institutional network, fully funded by World Bank IDA grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Research and Climate Adaptation Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Crop Production (11511)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Climate-Smart Farming & GHG Reduction (Emissions Accounting, Methane/N2O Reduction Practices) (AFAGAMAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Farm Data Management & Decision Support Services (FMIS Setup, Data Integration, Analytics) (AFACACAC), Climate Finance, Carbon Markets & MRV Systems (BPADALAB), Climate Policy, Governance & NDC Support (BPADALAA)

Keywords

• Climate-smart agriculture
• Climate information services
• Agricultural research
• Capacity development
• Climate adaptation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Nairobi

HQ country

Kenya

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. World Bank IDA Grant: AICCRA is supported by a grant from the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank. Initial funding was $60 million approved in December 2020. Additional financing of $46 million was approved in March 2026 for AICCRA-FSRP4.

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels13 records

Core offering

AICCRA scales climate-smart agriculture technologies and climate information services to smallholder farmers in Africa through partnerships with CGIAR centers, regional organizations, national institutions, universities, and farmer organizations. It delivers knowledge products (Innovation Catalogue, Scaling Playbook, policy briefs), digital tools (AgData Hubs, DACAS Network, RiceAdvice App), training curricula, and gender-smart accelerator programs across six focus countries (Senegal, Mali, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia) with regional spillovers across 37 African countries.

Product overview

AICCRA operates as a multi-component climate-smart agriculture and climate information services initiative led by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. The core offerings include the Innovation Catalogue (a searchable living record of climate-smart innovations), the Scaling Playbook (a practical scaling guide), AgData Hubs (national agricultural and climate data platforms with APIs), and the Digital Agro-Climate Advisory Services (DACAS) Network. Supporting products include the RiceAdvice App for rice farmers, climate-smart agriculture investment plans, interactive dashboards for tracking outcomes and deliverables, the Gender-Smart Accelerator Challenge program for women entrepreneurs, climate risk management curricula for universities, and policy tools including national gender and climate action plans. The project works through six country teams (Senegal, Mali, Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Zambia) and regional initiatives for East and Southern Africa and West Africa, implementing activities across four priorities: sharing knowledge, building partnerships, scaling innovation, and fostering gender and social inclusion.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• AICCRA Innovation Catalogue A living record of climate-smart innovations tested, adapted and made ready for wider use across Africa, documenting proven climate-smart agriculture and climate information services solutions for partners, researchers, and practitioners.
• AICCRA Scaling Playbook A practical guide that helps partners think systematically about how innovations move from evidence to adoption, from pilots to platforms, and from project support to institutional use, drawing on five years of AICCRA implementation experience.
• AgData Hub National agricultural and climate data centers that centralize meteorological and agricultural data to facilitate integration in decision-making at different levels. Connects climate data sources from ministries, NGOs, research institutes, and statistical departments through application programming interfaces (APIs).
• Digital Agro-Climate Advisory Services (DACAS) Network A regional initiative to accelerate climate-informed digital agro-advisory services across IGAD Member States in the Horn of Africa, supporting climate resilience policy, gender and social inclusion through the Letter of Collaborative Agreement with IGAD.
• RiceAdvice App A digital tool providing decision support for smallholder rice farming, helping farmers make informed decisions about crop management practices in Mali's rice systems.
• Climate-Smart Agriculture Investment Plans (CSAIP) Strategic investment plans that identify, assess, and prioritize climate-smart agriculture investments for private sector actors and public institutions. Ethiopia's CSAIP has investment potential of US$26.4 million.
• Gender-Smart Accelerator Challenge An investment pipeline-building program providing business development training, climate-smart agriculture technical assistance, de-risking grants up to US$25,000, and access to private investors for women-led SMEs in agriculture, implemented with WIC Capital and WIC Academy.
• Climate Risk Management Curricula Training curricula developed for universities and agricultural extension systems covering climate risk management (CRM), climate information services (CIS), and climate-smart agriculture (CSA), with modules for undergraduate students, graduate programs, and Agricultural Technical and Vocational Education Training (ATVET) colleges.
• AICCRA-FSRP IV (Accelerating Innovation and Catalyzing Capacity for Resilience in Africa) A fourth phase regional initiative expanding AICCRA's climate-smart solutions across Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Senegal, and Zambia, including drought-tolerant rice and maize varieties, digital climate advisory platforms, and solar-powered irrigation systems, reaching more than 1.5 million farmers and food-system actors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reached 11.6 million beneficiaries with validated climate-smart agriculture innovations and climate information services (2021-2025)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

24 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2026ICIPE will help carry forward the next phase of work through AICCRA-FSRP IV. The $46 million AICCRA-FSRP4 grant is granted to ICIPE for scaling agricultural innovations, raising productivity, and supporting economic and job opportunities.
• Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Strengthened strategic partnership to advance Digital Agro-Climate Advisory Services (DACAS) and soil health in the Horn of Africa. Collaboration focused on climate-informed digital agro-advisory services, climate resilience policy and practices, and gender and social inclusion through Letter of Collaborative Agreement (LoCA).
• Alliance of Bioversity International and CIATcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Serves as the main recipient and project lead for AICCRA. Dr Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg serves as Managing Director for Africa at the Alliance. Provides the operating backbone for one of CGIAR's most ambitious climate initiatives, coordinating CGIAR centers, regional organizations, national institutions, universities, farmer organizations, private sector actors, delivery partners and the World Bank.
• West and Central African Council for Agricultural Research and Development (CORAF)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner contributing to discussions on how regional organizations can strengthen climate-smart agriculture, climate information services, training, early warning systems, and institutional capacity across Africa.
• Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern and Central Africa (ASARECA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner collaborating on climate information services and capacity building for member states.
• Centre for Coordination of Agricultural Research and Development for Southern Africa (CCARDESA)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner contributing to climate-smart agriculture and climate information services development in Southern Africa.
• IGAD Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner working on climate applications and prediction, early warning systems, and regional climate resilience.
• AGRHYMET Regional CentremajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner contributing to climate services and agricultural development in West Africa.
• Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConsortium of 163 universities in 40 African countries working with AICCRA to strengthen capacities of universities and integrate climate-smart agriculture and climate information services into curricula.
• West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use (WASCAL)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partner working on climate change research and capacity building, with focus on graduate studies programmes in climate change and adapted land use across West Africa.
• Felix Houphouet Boigny University (Côte d'Ivoire)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity that created an option or specialization in Climate-Smart Agriculture within its master's degree program on Climate Change, Biodiversity, and Sustainable Agriculture, mainstreaming AICCRA-developed modules.
• International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI)majorTechnology or IntegrationTechnical partner providing expertise on curriculum development and implementation approaches for climate risk management, climate information services, and climate-smart agriculture.
• National Meteorological Agency of Mali (MALI-METEO)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost of the national AgData Hub, a digital climate information platform that centralizes agricultural and climate data to support agricultural planning in Mali.
• Kimatwa Women Savings and Credit Cooperative (SACCO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWomen-led cooperative in Makueni County, Kenya with over 700 members, promoting adoption of climate-smart agriculture through Mother Baby Demo Approach.
• AfricaRicemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading CGIAR research center coordinating AICCRA activities in Mali, focusing on rice-based value chains including crops and livestock.
• International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCGIAR research center contributing to AICCRA activities, particularly in Ethiopia and Kenya, with expertise in livestock and climate resilience.
• University Mohamed VI Polytechnic (UM6P)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading African university partnering with AICCRA-FSRP4 to stimulate market-driven innovation with strong employment potential in the region.
• WIC Capital / WIC AcademymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerImplementation partner for the Gender-Smart Accelerator Challenge in Senegal, providing coaching, mentoring, and investment matching for women entrepreneurs in agri-business.
• Africa Enterprise Challenge Fund (AECF)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional impact investor and AICCRA strategic implementation partner providing post-grant support to help winning companies implement projects and secure additional investments.
• International Finance Corporation (IFC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipated in AICCRA celebration panel discussion on systematic scaling strategies and responsible scaling practices.
• Eastern Africa Farmers Federation (EAFF)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partnership documenting and showcasing farmer-led climate adaptation examples across nine African countries, resulting in a report with ten case studies.
• Kenya Climate-Smart Agriculture Multi-Stakeholder Platform (CSA-MSP)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInclusive multi-stakeholder platform promoting climate-smart agriculture strategic policy engagement with thematic working groups on knowledge sharing, coordination, networking, policy development, and social inclusivity.
• AfricaRice (for Mali training)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerExpert facilitators for climate-smart agricultural innovations training in Mali's rice systems, along with IER and Mali-Meteo.
• Community Markets for Conservation (COMACO)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in Zambia's value chain bundle, receiving honey exports to the European Union under the 'It's Wild' brand from women's cooperatives.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Market position

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CGIARAfrica
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCoJnQqYOyY-vRsw6L7z4nzQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/CGIARAfrica
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/accelerating-impacts-cgiar-climate-research-for-africa-aiccra
• Instagraminstagram.com/cgiarafrica

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Accelerating Impacts of CGIAR Climate Research for Africa (AICCRA)