Launching workshop of the Adaptation Project Incubator for Africa (APIA) programme 

The Africa Adaptation Initiative (AAI), in collaboration with its technical and financial partners, namely the European Union, United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa) and the Initiative for the Adaptation of African Agriculture (AAA) Foundation, organized a workshop to launch the Adaptation Project Incubator for Africa (APIA) programme, from July 3 to 5, 2024 at the Tour Hassan Palace Hotel, in Rabat, capital of the Kingdom of Morocco. 

In a context where African countries are disproportionately affected by climate change despite being among the lowest emitters of greenhouse gases in the world, the Adaptation Project Incubator for Africa (APIA) is an innovative program promoted by the AAI Initiative to address the challenges and issues faced by accredited national and regional direct access entities (DAEs) of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and national and regional implementing entities (NIEs/RIEs) of the Adaptation Fund in accessing large-scale adaptation finance. Funded by the European Union for a 3-year period (2024-2026), the Program aims to improve and increase the flow of adaptation finance from multilateral climate funds to Africa by providing technical assistance to DAEs and NIE/RIEs for the development of well-structured and bankable adaptation projects/programs. 

The APIA Program launch workshop brought together focal points from the GCF’s Designated National Authorities (DNAs) and the Adaptation Fund, DAEs, the GCF, and resource persons with expertise in climate finance and adaptation on the continent – some sixty participants from 25 African countries. The event was also attended by the Chairman of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) and Special Envoy of the President of Kenya, Coordinator of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC), His Excellency Ambassador Ali D. Mohamed.  

The opening of the launching workshop, moderated by Mr. Jeremiah Sokan, Operational Focal Point of the Liberia GCF AND, was marked by speeches from Mr. Riad Balaghi, Projects Director at the AAA Initiative Foundation, Mr. Samuel T. Partey, Adaptation Specialist at the GCF and Ambassador Seyni Nafo, Coordinator of the AAI Technical Support Unit (AAI-TSU). 

Mr. Riad Balaghi welcomed the stakeholders to Morocco and praised the collaboration and synergies developed between the two African adaptation initiatives, AAI and the AAA Initiative. He also recalled the importance of the challenges facing Africa in terms of adaptation and underlined the consistency of the AAA Initiative in its actions since its launch in 2016 to facilitate access to climate finance, promote the implementation of concrete projects for the adaptation of African agriculture and support other initiatives such as AAI. Mr. Balaghi said that the APIA program could lead to the development of a community of practice model on climate finance between DAEs and NIEs/RIEs that will enable a better understanding of the difficulties in accessing climate funds in order to provide the best responses. 

For his part, Mr. Samuel T. Partey, who represented GCF at the workshop, informed that GCF’s ambition is to double the number of DAEs that have obtained GCF funding, as enshrined in the 2024-2027 Strategic Plan. He also affirmed the GCF’s willingness to support DAEs, stressing that the Fund is working on accelerating the accreditation of all candidate entities. 

Ambassador Seyni Nafo declared that climate change is no longer just an environmental issue, but a major macro-economic, security, diplomatic and geopolitical challenge. He underlined the significant disparity between the financial resources available and the urgent needs described in national climate policies. What’s more, 80% of these funds have been mobilized by non-African entities. Faced with these facts, “We need a paradigm shift”, he declared, asserting that the challenge of climate change in Africa requires the mobilization of Africans to achieve a resolution. For this reason, the APIA Program will also serve to bring together DAEs and non-accredited entities, currently at different levels of their accreditation process, for an exchange of African experiences and a means of learning together to move forward. 

The 3-day workshop consisted of plenary and interactive sessions, group work, roundtables and networking opportunities, to facilitate discussions between stakeholders on collaboration opportunities and support mechanisms for the APIA Program, identify key areas of cooperation and synergy, and establish a framework for ongoing collaboration between actors involved in the APIA Program.  

The APIA Program Coordinator, Mr. Koffi Koumassi, presented the Program, giving a clear overview of objectives, activities, expected results, key performance indicators, as well as approaches and modalities for collaboration between AAI and target accredited entities. 

The main implementation approach of the APIA Program is based on providing technical assistance to DAEs and NIEs/RIEs to strengthen their technical and institutional capacities and support them in project and program development processes over a three-year period. To this end, the African Adaptation Initiative (AAI) has recruited Sustainable Solutions For Africa (SSA), an NGO specializing in the field of climate change, and in particular in the mobilization of climate financing. During the workshop, Ms. Sandra Freitas, CEO of the NGO Sustainable Solutions for Africa (SSA), presented in detail the next steps for the concrete implementation of the APIA Program, with a focus on the methodological approach to providing technical assistance to DAEs and NIE/RIEs. 

United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG Africa), represented by Mr. François Yatta, Director of Operations and Technical Assistance, Mr. Mohammed Nbou, Special Advisor for Climate, Biodiversity and Food Systems, and Ms. Rahmatouca Sow, Advisor for Political and International Affairs, participated with great interest in this workshop, during which it was recognized that Africa’s adaptation to the impacts of climate change is first and foremost local, as needs are specific to each territory and communities are always placed at the heart of climate concerns. In this context, UCLG Africa, which is the implementing partner of the Green Climate Fund, can be a regional gateway for the continent’s local and sub-national governments to access climate finance.  

The second day of the inaugural workshop saw the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the Africa Adaptation Initiative (AAI) and the Agricultural Bank of Niger (BAGRI), a national entity implementing the Adaptation Fund. This MoU aims to formalize the partnership between the two entities for the deployment of technical assistance under the APIA Program. All targeted GCF and Adaptation Fund accredited entities are invited to follow BAGRI’s lead, especially as signing the MoU is a condition for receiving technical assistance from the APIA Program. 

The workshop closed with a ceremony to officially launch the Adaptation Project Incubator for Africa (APIA) programme by the AAI-TSU Coordinator, Ambassador Seyni Nafo, and the Director General of the AAA Initiative Foundation, Ms. Ghita El Ghorfi. 

“It is with deep gratitude, nourished by the detailed reports and enthusiastic feedback, that we close these 3 days of workshop coordinated by AAI, in collaboration with the AAA Initiative Foundation, not forgetting our partners UCLG Africa, the European Union, and our technical partner, Sustainable Solutions for Africa (SSA). This program that brings us together is not just a project, it’s a shared vision for the future of Africa with a clear objective: to develop concrete, turnkey adaptation projects, ready to attract the investment needed to transform our continent. It is the concrete embodiment of our priorities, a unique opportunity to form effective partnerships, design coherent monitoring frameworks, and mobilize climate financing that measures up to our challenges,” declared Mrs. Ghita El Ghorfi. She added that Africa’s adaptation to climate change is not just a technical-financial challenge, as the African ministers stressed, it is a moral imperative, a question of survival for millions of people and an opportunity to redefine the continent. She called on all stakeholders to bear in mind the urgency of their mission and the immense potential of their collaboration. 

For his part, the AAI-TSU Coordinator, Ambassador Seyni Nafo, thanked all the stakeholders from over 20 African countries who attended the APIA Program launching workshop for their trust. He said that although the needs of African countries were greater than the support mobilized so far, a sense of unity and progress had been achieved after a decade of work. “We have to meet the challenge of mobilizing climate finance, which is why we have drawn up a program focused on this aspect. Africans have the expertise and institutions to solve their own problems collaboratively. We must mobilize this expertise to achieve, together, the change our continent needs. We pledge to support you in your considerable efforts, and to advocate for increased resources for Africa”, he concluded.