Africa Climate Change Fund Launches Project for Women and Youth Entrepreneurship | African Development Bank

The Secretariat of the Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF) has launched a scheme to support climate adaptation financing mechanisms for women entrepreneurs and youth.

The program, “YouthADAPT: Empowering Women and Youth for Entrepreneurship and Job Creation in Climate Adaptation and Resilience,” will develop innovative, transformative climate-resilient bankable projects aligned with the Nationally Determined Contributions of African countries.

YouthADAPT is a flagship program under the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP), unlocking the untapped potential of young people in Africa to drive resilience and green entrepreneurship.

The virtual launch followed the approval of a $1 million grant by the ACCF’s development partners for the project. The event brought together stakeholders, including the project team, experts in quality control, adaptation, gender and communication, and experts in climate change and green growth, to share experiences.

ACCF Coordinator Rita Effah and the portfolio officer, Lucy Debrion, explained the fund’s operational guidelines for bank-implemented projects.

AAAP Coordinator and Principal Climate Change Officer Edith Ofwona Adera said, “African youth are leading the way, not in talk, but in concrete climate action; as agents of change, innovators and entrepreneurs.”

She said the scheme would support women-led local businesses promoting adaptive solutions to create additional jobs.

Adera thanked the ACCF for cooperating on the projects. Adera also praised the Fund for its role in facilitating the production of proposals. “That makes our job easier,” she added.

Post-launch, the AAAP Secretariat will liaise regularly with the ACCF Secretariat on key project milestones to ensure that the objective is fully achieved.

Since 2017, the ACCF Board Committees have approved 26 projects valued at $15.87 million.

The AAP will carry out the project. For more information on ACCF and AAAP, visit http://accf.afdb.org and www.afdb.org/aaap