Abidjan, November 16, 2023. To sustain its commitment to addressing the challenges of climate change and achieving the Paris Agreement, the Association of African Development Finance Institutions (AADFI) has set up a Working Group on Climate Change. The Working Group was launched on November 9, 2023, during the Joint International CEO Forum of AADFI and its Asian counterpart, the Association of Development Financing Institutions (ADFIAP), held from November 8 to 10, 2023, in Abuja, Nigeria.
The Working Group is chaired by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) under the leadership of Ms. Boitumelo Mosako, Chief Executive Officer of the Bank. At the same time, Mr. Olymous Manthata, Head of Climate Finance at the DBSA, will coordinate the group’s work.
Speaking at the launch of the Working Group, the AADFI Chairman, Mr. Thabo Thamane, highlighted that the need for AADFI members to be involved in providing solutions to addressing the climate challenges made it imperative for the Association to be strategically engaged.
Consequently, the Working Group was created to lead the AADFI’s agenda on climate change and generate ideas and actions that will enable the member DFIs to contribute effectively to achieving the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
The responsibilities of the Working Group include
- Supporting efforts to create a road map for African DFIs to accelerate their involvement in addressing climate challenges;
- Leading the effort in attracting technical assistance and support to build the skills and capacity of member DFIs on climate change, guiding African national DFIs in mobilizing finance, identifying funding opportunities for green projects (connecting finance to green projects, raising Green Bond), and hand-hold other national DFIs in their climate finance journey.
- Collaborating with the African Financial Alliance on Climate Change (AFAC) and
- Leveraging other support from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Global Center on Adaptation, the Green Climate Fund (GCF), and other partners to support member DFIs’ actions on climate change.
AADFI aims to drive meaningful change and accelerate Africa’s just energy transition by collaborating with various stakeholders and partners.