The Africa Climate Change Fund (ACCF)'s second call for proposals, which closed in August 2017, received unprecedented numbers of proposals from diverse government and non-governmental entities. Proponents of shortlisted concept notes were invited to submit full proposals, which were received in late January.
The objective of this call was to solicit innovative and impactful projects that will support direct access to climate finance and small-scale or pilot adaptation initiatives in sectors aligned with the Bank's High 5 priorities to build resilience of vulnerable communities in Africa.
The ACCF Secretariat's team of independent experts convened in Abidjan from February 6-9 to assess and score the proposals against the pre-determined assessment criteria. The team met with various Bank departments, funds and initiatives, including gender and civil society, agriculture, renewable energy and the Sustainable Energy Fund for Africa, Africa Water Facility, Jobs for Youth in Africa, Climate for Development Special Fund, and the Africa NDC Hub with the aim of ensuring that the that projects supported by the ACCF are relevant and synergistic with broader Bank initiatives.
The next stage will consist of the approval of a shortlist by the ACCF's Technical Committee followed by project appraisal and approval of the best proposals. The ACCF has approximately US $5 million available to allocate to approved projects, but is actively engaging with potential donors to mobilize new resources to respond to the significant demand.