African Development Fund's Climate Action Window Advances East and Southern Africa Projects Toward Financing

Project teams from East and Southern Africa have completed regional inception and project preparation workshops aimed at moving selected climate initiatives towards approval, financing and implementation under the African Development Fund's Climate Action Window.

The African Development Fund is the Bank Group's concessional lending window. The Climate Action Window was established under ADF's 16th replenishment cycle to accelerate climate action in the ADF's 37 countries, which are among the most vulnerable members of the Bank Group. CAW resources support adaptation, mitigation and technical assistance, including project preparation, institutional capacity, climate policy readiness and green finance initiatives.

The Nairobi workshop, held from 17 to 19 August, brought together 27 project teams, including national ministries and agencies as well as the World Resources Institute, International Livestock Research Institute, African Technology Policy Studies Network, TradeMark Africa, Pan African Climate Justice Alliance, UNDP, FAO, UNICEF, the World Meteorological Organization and the Global Green Growth Institute.

A second workshop was held from 31 August to 1 September at the African Development Bank's Southern Africa Regional Office in Pretoria. It brought together project teams from government ministries, national institutions, United Nations agencies and other partners, including institutions from Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Lesotho, Madagascar and Mozambique. The technical assistance portfolios in Southern Africa and East Africa are expected to help enable approximately US$225 million and US$407 million in climate finance, respectively.

"The opportunity before us is significant. If these Technical Assistance projects are well designed and successfully implemented, the value will extend far beyond the individual grants. They can help strengthen institutions, prepare larger investments and unlock considerably more climate finance for Southern Africa," said Farai Kanonda, Regional Operations Manager for Energy and Infrastructure, speaking on behalf of Dr Kennedy Mbekeani, Director General of the Bank Group's Southern Africa Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Office.

Regional workshops focus on project implementation readiness, scale and speed

During the workshops, teams reviewed project design, activities, budgets, results and implementation arrangements, identified outstanding gaps, and assigned tasks needed for disbursement and implementation.

"Technical assistance is not an end in itself. Success will not be measured by the number of studies we produce, the workshops we organise or the reports we write. Success will be measured by what comes next: stronger institutions, better-prepared investments, increased access to climate finance, projects that move from concept to implementation and, ultimately, tangible improvements in the lives and livelihoods of the people we serve," said Dr Alex Mubiru, Director General of the Bank Group's East Africa Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Office.

At the Nairobi workshop, Climate Action Window Coordinator Dr James Kinyangi explained how direct access should accelerate that process.

"The Climate Action Window was built around a simple idea: direct access - giving regional member countries a faster, more predictable route to climate finance through an institution that understands their context, institutions and development priorities. Our goal is to get all projects through the approval process before the end of 2026 so they can move into disbursement and implementation without unnecessary delay," he said.

He added that Climate Action Window resources are intended to catalyse at least three times their value in additional financing from governments, development partners and private capital.

The urgency is visible across both regions. The World Meteorological Organization's State of the Climate in Africa 2024 found that cereal yields in Southern Africa were 16 percent below the five-year average in 2024; Zambia and Zimbabwe were 43 percent and 50 percent below average, respectively. In East Africa, severe flooding during the long rains affected more than 700,000 people.

A World Food Programme analysis published in August 2026 estimates that more than 18 million people across East and Southern Africa could see their food security deteriorate as El Niño strengthens into 2027, a 26 percent increase compared against baseline regional averages.

Technical assistance unlocks larger investments

The East and Southern Africa cohorts form part of 67 technical assistance projects selected across the continent under the Climate Action Window's Third Call for Proposals. According to the Secretariat, the Window is already supporting 98 climate investments across adaptation, mitigation and project preparation technical assistance.

The workshops also recognised the governments of the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Ireland and Norway, whose contributions of about USD 450 million to the Climate Action Window have made this support possible.

Following the workshops, recipient institutions will complete agreed revisions, close outstanding fiduciary and legal requirements, and work with Bank task managers and the Climate Action Window Secretariat to submit projects for approval. Progress will be measured by projects that reach implementation and deliver practical protection for communities, livelihoods and public resources exposed to climate shocks.

Read the original article on African Development Bank (AfDB).