A Nordic Development Fund (NDF) delegation will visit the African Development Bank (AfDB) in mid-January 2012 to present its new strategy and operational guidelines for accessing funding for climate mitigation and adaptation activities. The NDF can provide grants of up to USD 4 million for project components covering both soft activities (technical assistance and capacity building) and hard investments where appropriate. Grants can also be used for upstream work, such as studies and master plans. Eligible areas of work include:

(i) infrastructure and energy,

(ii) natural resource management and

(iii) climate change-related capacity building. The NDF is available to 14 African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

With the support of the Korean Trust Fund (KOAFEC), the AfDB is also building a close relationship with Korean institutions to enable knowledge transfer in climate resilience and green growth. The Bank will be receiving a visit from the Korea-based Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) in the first quarter of 2012 to discuss means of supporting regional member countries in developing their green growth strategies. During 2012, the Bank will also be working with the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute (KEITI) on "The Africa-Korea Climate Initiative," a south-south cooperation framework between Korea and African countries focusing on issues of capacity and information regarding climate resilience.