Global Environment Facility (GEF)

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established in October 1991 to provide grants and concessional funding to cover costs associated with transforming a project with national benefits into one with global environmental benefits. The GEF unites 183 member governments in partnership with international institutions, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. It is today the largest funder of projects to improve the global environment and provides grants for projects related to biodiversity, climate change mitigation, land degradation, chemicals and waste, climate change adaptation and international waters.

The African Development Bank joined the GEF in 2007 as an Implementing Agency, with direct access to GEF resources. Over the years, the Bank has increased its pipeline of projects related to climate change, biodiversity, land conservation and international waters whilst gradually enhancing its interventions on chemicals and waste related issues on the African continent.

Demand for projects that protect the environment and promote sustainable development has been increasing over the past decade as economic activity expands in sectors such as tourism, agriculture, energy and transportation in Africa’s rural areas and urban centers. The African Development Bank and the GEF represent an important source of funding and technical expertise for countries in Africa with limited resources to finance such projects. The African Development Bank has helped its regional member countries (RMCs) to secure over $360 million worth of projects funded by both grant and private sector resources from the GEF. The Bank’s growing role as a major source of GEF financing reflects its capacity to align these projects with the Bank’s own investments to achieve sustainable development goals.

The African Development Bank’s comparative advantage as a GEF agency lies in its role as a major actor on the continent and the opportunity to catalyze sustainability and resilience into the Bank’s investments. Moreover, as a multilateral organization, the Bank can leverage the impact of these projects by attracting both public and private sector partners into transformational investments. Since it became a GEF Implementing Agency in 2007, the Bank has actively engaged in countless national-level dialogues, including with national GEF focal points to identify co-financing opportunities for the benefit of its RMCs.

On average, for every $1 of GEF resources, the Bank has attracted $4 in co-financing since it began mobilizing GEF funds 13 years ago, and the joint project pipeline has continued to expand during GEF’s seventh replenishment period, which runs from 2018 to 2022.

 

For more information on the Fund visit the official web site

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