TiCCA4DANU – Transformative Innovation for Climate Change Adaptation in the Danube Region

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TiCCA4Danu (Transformative Innovation for Climate Change Adaptation in the Danube Region) is an international research and innovation project under Horizon Europe that develops and tests a transformative innovation framework to accelerate just climate change adaptation (CCA) in Danube city‑regions. The project focuses on four “anchor cities” and their surrounding regions, representing different bio‑geographical settings in the Danube macro‑region (coastal, mountain and continental).

Funded by: Horizon Europe, co-funded by the European Union
Total eligible costs: €382,866.34​
Net EU contribution: €382,866.34​
Project duration: 36 months

Objective

TiCCA4Danu aims to remove structural barriers to climate change adaptation at city‑region level by applying a systems‑level Transformative Innovation Policy (TIP) approach. The project links TIP with Local Green Deals and other local governance instruments to ensure that CCA is just, inclusive and aligned with broader EU climate and regional strategies.

Project approach

The project combines analytical work, experimentation and stakeholder engagement to co‑design adaptation pathways with public authorities, businesses, vulnerable groups and civil society. It tests novel governance models, policy mixes and financing approaches, aiming to upscale successful solutions through the EU Strategy for the Danube Region and EU‑wide dissemination events.

Pilot regions

TiCCA4Danu concentrates its activities on four anchor cities and their wider territories in the Danube macro‑region: Burgas and the surrounding Burgas District (Bulgaria), Debrecen and Hajdú‑Bihar County (Hungary), Maribor and the Podravje region (Slovenia), and Suceava and the Nord‑Est region (Romania), including links to neighbouring areas in Turkey and Ukraine. These demonstration territories allow the project to explore climate risks, adaptation options and governance innovations across different climatic and socio‑economic contexts.

Project partners

  • VDI/VDE Innovation + Technik GmbH (Coordinator), Berlin, Germany​
  • ICLEI European Secretariat GmbH, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany​
  • Stichting VU, Amsterdam, Netherlands​
  • Fondazione CMCC – Centro Euro‑Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici, Lecce, Italy​
  • Universität Wien, Vienna, Austria​
  • International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Laxenburg, Austria​
  • ANTEJA ECG D.O.O., Ljubljana, Slovenia​
  • Obshtina Burgas (Burgas Municipality), Burgas, Bulgaria​
  • EDC Debrecen Város- és Gazdaságfejlesztési Központ Nonprofit Kft., Debrecen, Hungary​
  • Regionalna razvojna agencija za Podravje – Maribor (RRA Podravje – Maribor), Maribor, Slovenia​
  • Municipiul Suceava (Suceava Municipality), Suceava, Romania​
  • Lucia Seel International Consulting GmbH, Linz, Austria​
  • INFRAS AG, Zurich, Switzerland​
  • District Government Burgas, Burgas, Bulgaria​
  • Hajdú‑Bihar County Government, Debrecen, Hungary​
  • North East Regional Development Agency (ADR Nord‑Est), Piatra Neamț, Romania​
  • Odessa Regional State Administration, Ukraine​
  • Municipality of Uzunköprü, Turkey​

Useful links

Expansion and Deepening of Value Chains in Somalia: Supporting Women in Business

In Kismayo and Baidoa, women’s entrepreneurship relies largely on short-term humanitarian livelihood support. Limited access to finance, market information, skills and gender-responsive business services prevents women from growing their businesses. The GIZ project aims to improve women’s economic participation by strengthening women-led enterprises along selected value chains and improving the quality of entrepreneurship support services.

Anteja deepens up to four value chains, addressing technical, organisational and market bottlenecks. It trains local trainers as multipliers, with follow-up sessions and one-on-one mentoring, and facilitates linkages between suppliers, processors, vendors and consumers.

Project duration: June 2026 – February 2027
Region: Kismayo and Baidoa, Somalia

Client: GIZ

Headline photo: Pexels

Exploring the Potentials of Green Hydrogen for Local Economic Development

Connective Cities, implemented by GIZ, connects municipal practitioners from Germany and partner countries to initiate local reform measures. Its green hydrogen working group brings together municipalities from Sub-Saharan Africa and Germany to explore how renewable resources can supply local industries, create jobs and build a local hydrogen economy. The working group now focuses on concrete solutions, pilot measures and project applications. Anteja provides the technical steering, expertise and moderation of the working group. It moderates peer-learning workshops, organises expert missions and contributes to virtual insight sessions on good practice. It initiates and supervises short analyses, feasibility checks and pilot measures, including cooperation models between investors, companies and municipalities.

Project duration: May 2026 – July 2027
Region: Sub-Saharan Africa and Germany

Client: GIZ, Connective Cities

District-Level Pathways to Integrate Rural Women into Green and Sustainable Livelihoods in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan

The assignment identified green value chains in which rural women can participate as workers and entrepreneurs, and defined the infrastructure, technology and financing needed to scale them. The findings inform the World Bank’s RIDP2 programme in Uzbekistan and its TWEEP and SERSP projects in Tajikistan.

Anteja screened and prioritised value chains by district and country. Fourteen strict reports propose financing instruments and feed the investment pipeline. An access-to-finance assessment shows where existing credit products suffice and where facilitation, capacity building or blended support is needed. Validation sessions with the World Bank and project implementation units aligned the pipeline and financing mechanisms with what programmes can implement in the near and longer term.

Project duration: February – September 2026
Region: Selected districts in Uzbekistan and Tajikistan

Client: The World Bank

Strengthening Women’s Economic Participation: Promotion of Value Chains in Somalia

The project aimed to strengthen women-led micro and small enterprises in selected value chains by improving their competitiveness, market integration and employment opportunities. It covered milk, fish, meat, waste management and IT, and addressed both structural and capacity barriers faced by women entrepreneurs.

In Kismayo and Baidoa, the team developed urban support strategies to reduce bureaucratic barriers for women in business. Anteja mapped the value chains in a difficult environment where data collection and access to women entrepreneurs were limited, drawing on existing studies, interviews, focus groups and workshops. It conducted end-market, gap, and binding-constraint analyses, facilitated public–private dialogue, trained women entrepreneurs, and developed reform recommendations and instruments.

Project duration: March – November 2025
Region: Kismayo and Baidoa, Somalia

Client: GIZ

Circular Economy in Biomass for Export Growth

SIPPO strengthens export competitiveness in developing and transition economies by upgrading business support organisations. Add the Tunisia context here: which biomass value chains, the partner organisation, and the export markets targeted. Anteja map value chains, identify waste-intensive nodes and prioritise circular interventions by their waste reduction potential. It assessed the proposed pathways against the EU Taxonomy and CSRD/ESRS and provided compliance checklists. It evaluated markets for circular products and mapped investment needs and indicative financing pathways to support bankability. Anteja trained business support organisations and SMEs on circular principles and KPIs, and ran targeted workshops with chambers, companies and other ecosystem actors. It advised on positioning circular products for EU buyers and trade promotion.

Project duration: April – May 2025
Region: Tunisia

Client: Swiss Import Promotion Programme (SIPPO), mandated by State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)

Sustainable Textile Value Chain Development in Uzbekistan

The assignment assessed how far circular economy principles, in particular the 7R strategies, are understood and applied in Uzbekistan’s cotton and textile clusters, with a focus on textile companies in Samarkand. It identified the knowledge gaps and barriers that limit adoption at company level. It also examined whether international customers already expect sustainable practices from Uzbek producers, and whether companies communicate their existing circular activities effectively. A second focus was the policy and regulatory framework: how well it supports circular textile and garment production, how women can be better integrated into sustainable value chains, and where targeted policy interventions could accelerate the transition.

Anteja reviewed existing studies, analysed the textile value chains and visited companies. It conducted interviews, focus groups and workshops. It then identified gaps and binding constraints, and developed reform and policy recommendations for greening textile value chains through circular technologies and for strengthening social and environmental sustainability in the sector. The findings were discussed at a validation workshop.

Project duration: October 2023 – April 2024
Region: Uzbekistan (Samarkand)

Client: GIZ

Improvement of the Export Promotion Service by Meeting ESG Sustainability Criteria

The assignment developed a self-assessment tool that measures how far Serbian SME suppliers meet ESG requirements under the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The tool covers 18 ESG reporting criteria based on the voluntary SME standard (VSME ESRS exposure draft, November 2023) and guides companies on how to meet them. The project also built the capacity of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia (CCIS) to assess SME readiness for European green standards and to coach companies on sustainability.

Anteja designed a sustainability framework based on ESG, ESRS and CSRD requirements and developed a digital ESG self-assessment tool with automated reporting. It piloted the tool with SMEs, refined it and deployed it. Anteja trained CCIS staff in sustainability metrics, circular economy concepts and value chain assessment, and developed a coaching tool and questionnaire so that CCIS can coach SMEs and evaluate their compliance. The tools and methods were adapted so they can be scaled to other SIPPO countries.

Project duration: May 2023 – November 2024
Region: Serbia

Client: Swiss Import Promotion Programme (SIPPO), mandated by State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)

European Horticulture Investment Mapping

The assignment assessed opportunities for European horticulture companies to set up or expand operations in Africa and provided IFC with an actionable framework for engaging investors in sustainable, high-end agricultural supply chains. It confirmed interest from credible horticulture players. Their motivations are to extend production periods, reduce reliance on fossil-fuel-heated greenhouses and limit exposure to volatile energy prices. Africa offers them diversification, competitive costs and the potential to meet EU deforestation-free and sustainability requirements.

Because horticulture is capital-intensive, even sophisticated European players need tailored support to enter African supply markets and comply with EU standards. Anteja mapped European horticulture players and prioritised a pipeline for African expansion by company size, sustainability posture and market readiness. It assessed horticulture supply chains, including environmental and social aspects, and grouped opportunities into sub-asset classes that define investable themes.

Using a selection framework, Anteja shortlisted companies and prepared company briefs and investor-ready pitch materials. It facilitated IFC’s engagement with priority firms and refined the prioritisation based on those discussions. It also outlined EU market-access compliance and financing considerations to inform outreach to financial institutions.

Project duration: June – December 2024
Region: Africa and Europe

Client: International Finance Corporation (IFC)

Market Study of the European and North American Market for Desert Date Oil

Under the We-Fi programme in Mauritania, the study strengthened the market access and investment readiness of SMEs producing desert date oil. Most of these SMEs sold only on domestic markets, with few links to the growing European and North American demand for natural cosmetic ingredients.

The study set out entry points, competitor positioning and market entry strategies to attract investment into local processing and connect producers with international buyers.

Anteja combined a review of market data and visits to four leading trade fairs, inclduing Biofach & Vivaness, IECSC New York, Cosmoprof and In-Cosmetics. It profiled customer segments, marketing and distribution channels, competitors and packaging trends. It also reviewed the regulatory frameworks. Anteja then identified buyers and brands interested in desert date oil and developed go-to-market options for each market.

Project duration: July 2022 – June 2023
Region: Mauritania, Europe and North America

Client: International Finance Corporation (IFC)