Fostering uptake of innovations and solutions for water and climate challenges in Africa: Lessons from the AfriAlliance Knowledge Brokerage Events

To address water and climate change-related challenges in Africa, there is a need to identify and scale appropriate local existing innovation and solutions. This implies effective interaction among stakeholders in the water sector to generate, increase and exchange knowledge and innovation. To foster such interactions, AfriAlliance designed and organised innovative and tailored Knowledge Brokerage Events implemented in the African continent. These events brought together a wide range of relevant stakeholders from Africa and Europe, bridging the gap between innovators, funders, civil society and policy makers in uniquely interactive settings, while also strengthening partnerships and fostering the uptake of water and climate change-related innovations and solutions. Using a highly interactive and innovative session design (featuring an ‘Innovators Marketplace’), these events offered a new approach to multi-stakeholder knowledge brokerage between African and European actors in water and climate.