Canada, AfDB sign C$133m gender lens Climate Fund for Africa

The Canadian government and the African Development Bank have signed an agreement formalizing the Canada–African Development Bank Climate Fund (CACF) - a special fund aimed at providing concessional loans to climate change-related projects with a strong gender-responsive component. The African Development Bank will administer the fund.

The fund will be capitalized through a combination of a C$122.9 million ($104.8 million) repayable contribution, aimed at providing concessional loans for both sovereign and non-sovereign operations plus a C$10 million grant contribution for complementary technical assistance. 

As a concessional facility, CACF resources will be deployed in innovative low-carbon technologies, renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, sustainable forestry, water management, and climate-resilience projects.  The fund will finance climate change related projects in the African Development Bank’s regional member countries, including those that demonstrate a strong gender equality focus. The empowerment of women and girls will be an objective across all concessional financing of the CACF, aiming at direct, measurable gender equality outcomes.