A Landmark Moment for Africa's Climate Ambitions: Ambassador Nafo Co-Chairs Historic GCF Board Meeting

The 44th Green Climate Fund Board Meeting breaks records, brings transformative gains for Africa

The 44th meeting of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board, held from 25 to 28 March 2026 at GCF's Songdo headquarters in the Republic of Korea, has closed with outcomes that mark a defining moment for global climate finance. For the Africa Adaptation Initiative (AAI), the meeting carries special significance: it was co-chaired by AAI Coordinator Ambassador Seyni Nafo of Mali, whose leadership helped steer one of the Fund's most consequential sessions to date.

A USD 20 Billion Milestone

The Board approved USD 960.3 million in new climate finance across 18 projects and programmes, pushing GCF's cumulative portfolio past the USD 20 billion mark spanning 354 projects in more than 130 countries. This milestone affirms GCF's position as the world's premier climate fund for developing nations, and signals growing momentum in multilateral climate action at a time when such leadership is urgently needed.

Africa at the Heart of the Board's Agenda

For a Fund of this scale, the numbers tell a striking story: nearly half of all new investments approved at B.44, approximately USD 441 million, will flow to Africa across seven projects. This reflects both the continent's disproportionate vulnerability to climate impacts and the growing effectiveness of African voices within global climate governance.

Among the landmark approvals is ASCENT-GREEN, a USD 250 million programme implemented with the World Bank to strengthen resilient energy access across 21 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa the single largest project approved at this meeting. Equally notable are the first-ever single-country GCF investments in Chad a country that has long stood at the frontline of climate vulnerability as well as in Jamaica and The Bahamas.

The Chad approval: the SCALE project (Strengthening Chad's Adaptation for Land, Ecosystems and smallholders) implemented with ACTED: holds particular resonance for AAI. Chad has been a focus of AAI's on-the-ground adaptation work, including through the Zara Agro-Chad initiative, where partnerships with the UN Joint SDG Fund and the Green Climate Fund have already begun to demonstrate what community-centred, climate-resilient agriculture can look like in the Sahel. This new direct investment signals growing confidence in Chad's absorptive capacity for climate finance.

Two African Regional Offices: A Historic Step Closer to the Ground

One of the most consequential decisions at B.44 was the selection of host cities for GCF's new regional offices, the first time in the Fund's history that it will establish a physical presence in the regions it serves. For Africa, the Board decided on a dual-location model: Nairobi, Kenya, covering East and Southern Africa; and Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, covering Central, North and West Africa. This is a hard-won recognition that a continent of Africa's scale, diversity, and climate exposure deserves not one but two points of direct engagement with the Fund.

These offices will accelerate project preparation, strengthen coordination with National Designated Authorities, and ensure that readiness support is genuinely aligned with country needs longstanding priorities that AAI has consistently championed.

Country Ownership and the Direct Access Principle

The Board also approved 10 new Accredited Entities, six of which are Direct Access Entities, including the first-ever national direct access entity for Palestine. This is more than a procedural milestone: it reflects the conviction that climate finance must be owned and driven by the countries most affected by climate change, rather than channelled through external intermediaries. With over 110 regional and national entities now part of the GCF network, the infrastructure for genuine country ownership is steadily taking shape.

Ambassador Nafo's Leadership at the Helm

As Co-Chair of the GCF Board for a second consecutive term alongside Leif Holmberg of Sweden, Ambassador Nafo guided the Board through a complex and ambitious agenda with the steady hand of someone who understands, from both sides of the negotiating table, what is at stake for developing nations.

In his closing statement, Ambassador Nafo captured the spirit of the meeting:

"The USD 960.3 million in investment agreed at this Board will deliver climate finance at scale for developing countries around the world. With nearly half of our new investments directed to Africa and first-ever single-country projects in Chad, Jamaica and The Bahamas, we are reaching communities that need climate finance the most. I am also delighted to see the accreditation of 10 new partner organisations – six of them direct access entities – including the first national direct access entity for Palestine. This signals GCF's continued commitment to country-ownership of climate action. The decision on regional presence will bring the Fund even closer to the countries it serves, and I am particularly delighted that there will be two locations for the African regional office, in Nairobi and Abidjan."

Looking Ahead

For AAI, the outcomes of B.44 are not simply news to report, they are affirmation of the path we have collectively advocated for: a climate finance architecture that reaches the communities most exposed to climate risk, that invests in African solutions, and that recognises the continent not as a passive recipient of climate largesse but as a lead actor in shaping its own adaptation future.

As AAI approaches its 10th anniversary this May, the results of this Board meeting offer powerful evidence that Africa's voice in global climate finance is growing stronger, and that sustained, strategic advocacy matters.

The Africa Adaptation Initiative (AAI) is the flagship climate adaptation programme of the African Union, dedicated to scaling up adaptation action and finance across the continent. AAI Coordinator Ambassador Seyni Nafo serves as Co-Chair of the GCF Board.