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Adaptation Fund

Climate Fund
United States
iSustain score 86Demanding· 6–12 months

Finances concrete climate adaptation projects in developing countries.

Geographic focus

Central Asia
Eastern Europe
Latin America & Caribbean
Middle East
North Africa
Pacific Islands
Pan-African
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Sub-Saharan Africa

Sector appetite

Climate Adaptation
Climate Resilience
Water
Sustainable Agriculture
Coastal Resilience
Food Systems

Finance instruments

Grants
Technical Assistance
Project Preparation

Project stages

Concept
Feasibility
Development
Pilot

Typical ticket size

$250k – $25m

Readiness requirements

National Implementing Entity accreditation

Partnership preferences

Direct access via accredited national entities

Contact

afbsec@adaptation-fund.org

iSustain relevance score

  • Regional focus & relevance30/30
  • Access & contactability25/25
  • Financing programmes & instruments — 2 open or rolling12/15
  • Instrument breadth4/15
  • Data freshness15/15

Weighted 0–100: Africa focus 30, access & contactability 25, live windows 15, instrument breadth 15, data freshness 15.

Access difficulty

Demanding· 6–12 months

Access via an accredited or implementing entity; published application route.

  • Counterparty requirement — Accredited / implementing entity required4/5
  • Application process — Published application route0/3
  • Ticket floor — No large minimum ticket0/3
  • Readiness burden — 0 readiness requirements identified0/2
  • Internal approval process — Board / institutional approval cycles2/2

A rating of how hard this capital is to reach — not a prediction of whether an application will succeed. Built from the counterparty required, the published application route, the minimum ticket, the readiness evidence expected and the internal approval process.

Instruments & programmes

What a client can actually approach this organisation for, and how access works.

Adaptation Fund Single-Country & Regional Projects

Fund Window
Grants
Rolling

Grant finance dedicated purely to concrete climate adaptation in developing countries, accessible directly through accredited national entities as well as through multilateral implementing entities.

Access route

Via accredited entity

Ticket size

— — Up to $10m single country; up to $14m regional

Geographic focus

Global
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Latin America & Caribbean
Pacific Islands
Central Asia
Eastern Europe
Middle East
Sub-Saharan Africa

Sector focus

Climate Adaptation
Agriculture
Water
Coastal Resilience

Project stages

Concept
Feasibility
Development

Eligibility

Developing countries party to the Kyoto Protocol or Paris Agreement, applying through a National, Regional or Multilateral Implementing Entity.

How to access

Work with an accredited Implementing Entity to submit a concept and then a fully developed proposal ahead of a Board meeting deadline.

Concrete Adaptation Project Grants

Grant Window
Grants
Rolling

Grants of up to $10m per country for concrete adaptation actions, accessible via national implementing entities.

Access route

Via accredited entity

Ticket size

up to $10m — Up to $10m per country

Geographic focus

Global
Eastern Europe
Latin America & Caribbean
Sub-Saharan Africa
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Pacific Islands
Pan-African
Middle East
Central Asia
North Africa

Sector focus

Climate Adaptation
Agriculture
Water
Climate Resilience

Project stages

Development
Construction

Eligibility

Developing countries party to the Kyoto Protocol/Paris Agreement, via accredited entities.

How to access

Work with a national, regional or multilateral implementing entity; designated authority endorsement required.

Innovation Small Grants & Large Grants

Grant Window
Grants
Rolling

Dedicated innovation windows funding new adaptation technologies and business models.

Access route

Via accredited entity

Ticket size

$250k – $5m — $250k small grants; up to $5m large grants

Geographic focus

Global
Eastern Europe
Latin America & Caribbean
Sub-Saharan Africa
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Pacific Islands
Pan-African
Middle East
Central Asia
North Africa

Sector focus

Climate Adaptation
Climate Tech

Project stages

Concept
Pilot

Eligibility

Innovators partnered with accredited or aggregator entities (e.g. AFCIA/UNDP).

How to access

Apply during open innovation calls.

Locally Led Adaptation (LLA) Single Country Grants

Grant Window
Grants
Rolling

Standing window financing locally led adaptation projects through accredited and national implementing entities, with country caps raised to US$40m cumulative.

Access route

Via accredited entity

Ticket size

$250k – $5m — Within national country caps (up to $40m cumulative per country)

Geographic focus

Eastern Europe
Latin America & Caribbean
Sub-Saharan Africa
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Pacific Islands
Middle East
Central Asia
Pan-African
North Africa

Sector focus

Climate Adaptation
Climate Resilience

Project stages

Concept
Development

Eligibility

Developing country institutions applying through Accredited or National Implementing Entities.

How to access

Work with your National Implementing Entity to submit a proposal to the Adaptation Fund.

Related capital sources

Other funders with an overlapping mandate.

Browse by theme in the finance guides.

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