Despite pronounced vulnerability to climate change, African countries face significant challenges in accessing climate finance for the design, development and management of critical adaptation interventions that ensure the sustainable supply of water resources and ecosystem goods and services, food security, energy generation and health, while also reducing exposure to increasing extreme climate impacts.

The AU-AIP Multicounty Green Climate Fund Readiness Project aims to accelerate and enhance the investment into gender-responsive climate resilience in Africa by advancing Direct Access and developing country-level strategic frameworks and investment programmes for climate-resilient water resources management. The project will further support countries by filling a key financing gap in the early-stage project development cycle by supporting the development of concept notes for country and transboundary projects.

The Readiness project will also contribute to a knowledge management platform as part of the AIP International Blended Investment Facility for mobilising public-private finance and sharing lessons learned to enhance knowledge management’s inclusion into current and future resilience interventions, including the use of indigenous knowledge.

The countries will also receive support to implement gender-transformative approaches in climate-resilient water invetsments through capacity building and pilot demonstrations.