Storms, floods, heat, and droughts hit hardest those who have the least. When the soil cracks and the rivers dry, work disappears. In Sub-Saharan Africa, one drought can wipe out 900,000 jobs in a year — and with them, years of progress. But investments in resilience are changing that story.
Across communities, crops are surviving longer dry seasons, roads are holding up through heavy rains, and schools are staying open even in extreme heat. People are not just recovering — they’re adapting, learning, and growing stronger. Progress is lasting, not just until the next storm, but beyond it. And that's the game changer.
Protecting livelihoods in West Africa
In Aneho, a small coastal town in Togo, Lionel Djondo looks over the construction site of his future beachfront hotel. Just a year ago, this stretch of coast was under threat from the sea. Now, a 40-room hotel with a pool, spa, and playground is rising in its place. “I’m hopeful,” he says, “We could create up to 500 direct and indirect jobs.”
For decades, this coastline was disappearing - swallowed meter by meter by waves and floods. As much as 10 meters of land vanished each year, and in the most fragile stretches, losses reached 30 meters.
“There was no word to describe the hardship we went through,” recalls Ayayi Hounlédé , a resident of coastal Aneho in Togo.
“We were hit with tides up to two meters high. Our houses would get smashed. All the homes here were flooded.”
Nearly one-third of West Africa’s population lives on the coast, where almost half of the region’s economy is generated. Protecting these shorelines is vital for jobs, communities, and future generations.
The West Africa Coastal Areas Resilience Investment Project (WACA) is delivering that protection. Cross-border works— coastal barriers, wave breakers, sand replenishment, and mangrove restoration—are bringing beaches back, safeguarding people and ecosystems, and restoring investor confidence.
For fishing families, the sea is coming alive again. Within a year, species that had vanished started to return. “I get fish every day except Wednesdays when the men don’t go out,” says Florence Akouete, a fishmonger in Kpeme. “I smoke and sell them in Lomé and nearby villages. From the money, I buy food for the house.”
Beyond fishing, WACA is creating new opportunities that help coastal residents earn more and rely less on the sea, reducing pressure on fragile ecosystems.
In Lokossa, Benin, the roar of a palm nut shelling machine, used to make red palm oil, mixes with the women’s voices. Some of the women break into song as they work: some peeling cassava, others slicing it, while a few tend stoves to cook flour.
With 730 members—715 of them women—the Agamé Agricultural Products Processing Cooperative is thriving. “We process all kinds of products—gari, coconut and palm oil, tapioca, soap,” says secretary-general Philomène Claire Adangnonnanhoundé. “Before, we worked from our homes with rented tools and no proper workspace. It was very difficult.” Back then, members often had to ask clients for advance payments to buy raw materials. “Preparing palm oil could take five days, even a week,” Philomène recalls. “Today, in just a few hours, we complete the entire cycle—saving time and making real profits. “WACA is a project of hope,” says Alexis Aquereburu, the Mayor of Lacs 1 Commune in Togo. “It has reconciled us with the sea.”
In nine coastal countries, the project is transforming livelihoods—boosting incomes, protecting jobs, and building resilience—through regional partnerships that span all seventeen West African nations.
Building resilience through smart farming in Jamaica
Note: Visual materials and results featured in this story were produced prior to the hurricane that impacted Jamaica in October 2025.
“Iused to do outdoor farming, but it got challenging because of the climate we have here. We cannot predict weather,” says Earl Williams, a farmer and father of three in the rural town of Content, Jamaica.
Rain and drought often ruined his crops. Stronger hurricanes, rising seas, and shifting rainfall patterns are reshaping farming and livelihoods across the Caribbean.
For farmers like Earl, adapting to these changes has become essential to keep the harvest alive.
The Rural Economic Development Initiative is helping small farmers do just that—providing tools to withstand climate shocks, raise productivity, and tap into new markets, including the growing tourism sector.
“With the greenhouse, we don’t have that challenge anymore. It has changed my life,” says Earl. “I’m getting higher yields, especially with the sweet peppers I plant. I earned enough to send my kids to college.”
Earl is part of a cluster of farmers - once subsistence farmers dependent on rain-fed agriculture – who have learned to use drip irrigation, now covering 600 acres, manage greenhouses, and adopt modern techniques that protect their crops and extend the growing season. Together, they are moving from survival farming to reliable harvests and steady incomes, supplying markets and even Jamaica’s hotels with fresh produce.
For Keisha Vassel, greenhouse farming has been a lifeline. As a single mother raising her children on her own after losing her partner, the project has given her both income and stability. “I used to do other farming but not in this way. Coming into the greenhouse, it has been different, but I learned to adapt. We got training—how to manage the plant, how to treat the plant,” she explains. When Keisha broke her wrist in an accident, she says she wasn’t left vulnerable. “It’s the savings from this greenhouse that have helped me,” she recalls. The project benefited close to 20,000 small producers and tourism providers across 13 regions of Jamaica.
Almost 90 percent of rural enterprises were able to expand their market access—enabling local farmers to supply the tourism industry and reduce reliance on imported food.
By harvesting rainwater, using renewable energy, and cutting waste, farmers are lowering costs and protecting the environment, while securing better incomes.
Adapting to extreme heat
When temperatures rise in fast-growing cities, everything slows down. Machines fail, power grids strain, and outdoor workers—builders, drivers, street vendors—are forced to stop.
From New Delhi to Sarajevo, billions are feeling the toll of extreme heat on their health, jobs, and productivity.
By 2050, extreme heat could reduce annual GDP by up to 2.5 percent across many cities in Europe and Central Asia. In South Asia, nearly 90 percent of the population will be exposed to life-threatening heat.
But cities are adapting.
Planting trees along streets, installing reflective roofs, mapping urban heat, and shifting to smarter work schedules are already saving lives, keeping classrooms open, and helping firms stay productive. In Ahmedabad, India, the Heat Action Plan has prevented over 2,300 deaths through early warning systems, healthcare training, and innovative cooling measures. In Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, a citizen led heat monitoring campaign is helping turn data and design ideas into action for a cooler, safer city. Scaling these efforts takes innovation and investment.
With IFC’s support, companies are bringing smart, affordable cooling solutions to scale — helping cities and businesses adapt faster while cutting costs and emissions.
In Nigeria, small business owner Adeola Mojodi keeps milk and dairy cold with a solar-powered refrigerator from start-up Koolboks. “During a recent power outage, it saved the day,” he says. “We had no losses, and vendors went out that same day.” New low-cost, insulated storage facilities powered by renewable energy are helping farmers in Nigeria preserve yam harvests for up to four months, reducing losses and protecting incomes.
And in Mexico , a local refrigeration company is piloting thermal batteries from Spanish innovator BiofreshTech—flat panels that keep fridges cold for up to three days without electricity. “The results exceeded expectations,” says Rafael Matamoros, CEO of BiofreshTech. “It’s helping us reach remote communities and cut emissions at the same time.” Across Nigeria, India, and Mexico, more than 60 sustainable cooling pilots are underway—linking start-ups with local firms to deliver practical, low-carbon solutions that cut emissions , and keep businesses profitable even as temperatures rise.
The market for sustainable cooling in developing economies is already worth $300 billion a year—and set to double by 2050. IFC is expanding this opportunity by mobilizing private investment in adaptation to create jobs, strengthen markets, and help businesses stay resilient.
Simple solutions for lasting impact
From restoring coastlines to growing crops that survive drought, simple solutions are making a difference in communities every day.
When resilience is built into projects, lives are saved, jobs are secured, classrooms are kept open. And countries have the chance to grow stronger.
That’s why the World Bank Group is supporting smart development solutions through adaptation, working to boost the resilience of nearly 425 million people whose lives are impacted by climate change.
In 2025, more than a third of World Bank Group finance with climate benefits went to building resilience—supporting projects that keep roads open after floods, protect harvests during droughts, and help firms and households hold on to jobs and incomes when disasters strike. Because every dollar invested in development must last.