United Nations Development Programme

UNDP Market Assessment

NHMSs should collaborate rather than compete with private weather companies.

NHMSs should embark on a phased transition to derive benefits from the national commercial weather markets.

NHMSs face considerable risk of being marginal-ized if they do not actively promote the growth of the market by providing con-sistently accurate primary data to the private sector.

UNDP Market Assessment

Revenue-Generating Opportunities Through Tailored Weather Information Products

The availability, diversity, sophistication and use of weather infor-mation is increasing rapidly within the public and private sectors globally. International private weather companies are marketing tailored weather information products intensively and have gener-ated considerable demand from private as well as government customers across a wide range of economic sectors. The demand for these tailored services is also growing as a result of the wide-spread negative impacts of climate change across these sectors. Al-though business opportunities abound, the commercial viability of new ventures in this intensely competitive market will be strongly dependent on highly specialized skills in product development and marketing, including the design of weather information products tailored to meet the diverse needs of various sectors.

OVERVIEW OF MARKET ASSESSMENT FINDINGS

MAIN CONCLUSIONS

UNDP’s continental-scale market assessment explores market

forces, imperatives, trends and stakeholder needs in the creation of

new revenue-generating opportunities for Africa’s National Hydro-

Meteorological Services (NHMS). The study indicates an increase in

the availability and sophistication of weather information, strong

demand from private and public customers across a wide range of

economic sectors, including agriculture, mining, forestry,

construction, aviation, tourism, energy and planning, and a highly

competitive business environment, where new ventures will be

strongly dependent on highly specialized skills in product

development and marketing.

United Nations Development Programme

Full report published March 2016 available at http://www.adaptation-undp.org/resources/knowledge-products/climate-and-weather-services-market-assessment-revenue-generating

United Nations Development Programme

UNDP Market Assessment

• Raise awareness of socio-economic benefits

• Engage treasury• Revise regulations to promote

partnerships and data sharing• Define roles of private

sector versus NHMS • Expand ground observation

network (potentially on cell phone towers)

• Use service providers to bridge the gap (business develop-ment, sales & marketing)

• Develop in-house expertise• Identify suitable entry points

through in-depth national market assessments

UNDP Market Assessment

The Challenge

NHMS VIRTUOUS CYCLE

RECOMMENDED NEXT STEPS

Many African NHMS remain trapped in a non-virtuous cycle. Lack of

internal capacity, poor planning for the maintenance, service and man-

agement of weather and climate monitoring systems, poor integration

between disparate donor-supported investments in the climate and

weather services space, increased competition from new private sector

players, a continued focus on non-bespoke technological solutions

that work well in the developed world but are not well suited for the

unique rigors of deployment in sub-Saharan Africa, and any number of

regional and local challenges perpetuate this cycle.

Despite the potential contribution of NHMSs their true value is rarely

quantified in developing nations. In particular, the role that these

agencies play in the management of meteorological and hydrological

hazards is undervalued. Similarly, there is limited awareness of the

economic benefits associated with integrating accurate and timely

climate and weather information into decision-making processes

in climate-vulnerable sectors – such as agriculture and energy – to

increase productivity and avoid losses.

United Nations Development Programme

CONTACT: Bonizella Biagini. Bonizella.biagini@undp.org