APIA regional workshop on adaptation fund project development

APIA REGIONAL WORKSHOP ON ADAPTATION FUND PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

Strengthening Africa's Access to Climate Adaptation Finance: APIA Hosts Regional Workshop in Dakar

AAI holds a pivotal regional workshop under its flagship Adaptation Project Incubator for Africa (APIA) programme, from September 16-19, 2025, in Dakar, Senegal.

Climate adaptation finance remains critically underfunded across Africa, despite the continent's urgent need for resilience-building investments. While the Adaptation Fund has undergone substantial reforms—including increased country allocations and new financing windows like Locally-Led Adaptation (LLA) and innovation projects—African countries are not yet fully capitalizing on these opportunities.

THE NUMBERS TELL THE STORY

As of June 2025, only 35% of Adaptation Fund financing to Africa flows through National and Regional Implementing Entities (NIEs/RIEs), while 65% still goes through multilateral entities. This disparity highlights the critical need to strengthen direct access capabilities.

BUILDING CAPACITY FOR BANKABLE PROJECTS

Hosted by the Centre de Suivi Écologique (CSE), a key player in Africa's climate finance landscape, this intensive 4-day workshop will equip technical staff from accredited African NIEs and RIEs with the tools they need to develop investment-ready adaptation projects.

KEY FOCUS AREAS

- Understanding the Adaptation Fund's revised programming framework

- Mastering the complete project cycle from concept to closure

- Developing compelling climate rationales with scientific backing

- Aligning projects with environmental, social, and gender safeguards

- Structuring innovative financing proposals

PERSONALISED SUPPORT THROUGH B2B SESSIONS

What sets this workshop apart is its personaliSed approach. Beyond technical training, the programme includes dedicated Business-to-Business (B2B) sessions providing tailored support to at least four entities—two for project development processes and two for re-accreditation procedures.

A COLLABORATIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

The workshop adopts a participative and practical methodology based on real project cases. Participants will work directly with expert trainers to apply new knowledge to their ongoing projects, emphasizing learning through practice and peer-to-peer experience sharing.

This initiative represents a concrete step toward enhancing Africa's capacity to access and effectively manage adaptation finance, ultimately supporting the continent's resilience-building efforts in the face of climate change.