Independent Evaluation Confirms Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) Delivered Impact at Scale

Boston Consulting Group finds AAAP on track to shape $25 billion in climate-resilient investments, benefiting nearly 200 million people across Africa.

Rotterdam, Sept. 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) today welcomed the results of the first independent, end-of-phase evaluation of the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP) and its GCA-led Upstream Financing Facility, as conducted by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

The evaluation assessed the entire program from 2021 to 2025, drawing on over 40 stakeholder interviews across funders, partners and beneficiaries, among others, and a thorough review of performance metrics, benchmarked against sector comparators and OECD-DAC criteria. It confirms that AAAP has already shaped close to USD 19 billion in board-approved investments from International Finance Institutions (IFIs) and is firmly on track to achieve its headline target of USD 25 billion by year end. These investments were unique in their reach across some 40 African countries and with underlying climate-adaptation aligned IFI investments expected to benefit some 200 million people with strengthened resilience.

Mr. Aly-Khan Jamal, Managing Director at BCG, said: “BCG’s independent assessment finds that AAAP is on track to achieve its goal of shaping $25 billion in investment to address Africa’s adaptation needs—reaching nearly 40 countries across the continent. For a first-of-its-kind programme, this represents a strong foundation, underpinned by technical credibility and system-level influence. Looking ahead, there is an opportunity to deepen impact by strengthening measurement, broadening partnerships, and addressing structural barriers to adaptation finance.”

Professor Patrick Verkooijen, President and CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation, said “This evaluation confirms that AAAP has delivered impact at scale, embedding adaptation into investments that protect millions of lives and livelihoods. It validates our upstream model and provides a clear pathway forward: more robust measurement, stronger private-sector engagement, and deeper policy impact. These lessons will guide the bold next phase of AAAP as Africa’s flagship resilience program.”

The evaluation highlighted AAAP’s unique “solutions-broker” model—combining deep technical expertise with system-level influence—to help governments and development partners embed adaptation in major development investments and programs, ensuring that critical infrastructure, water, agricultural and other key services continue to deliver into the future despite increasingly challenging and evolved climate conditions. Case studies within the evaluation indicated strong value for money, with benefit–cost ratios of 3–5:1 in areas such as food security and resilient infrastructure.

The evaluation likewise examined each of AAAP’s four pillars in detail. It found that Food Security interventions, including climate-smart seed systems and digital advisory services, have anchored resilience in agricultural investments. Infrastructure and Nature-Based Solutions delivered high value-for-money, integrating resilience into urban planning and water systems while advancing locally led adaptation. Youth Entrepreneurship and Adaptation Jobs created over 10,000 new jobs and fostered innovation but requires greater scale to mainstream adaptation fully. Adaptation Finance evolved toward unlocking private and domestic finance, with promising pilots such as bank portfolio stress-testing, though catalytic impact remains at an early stage. In addition, the program’s engagement with the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF) has embedded adaptation into policy-based lending reform measures of USD 1.7 billion of approved financing.

Looking ahead, the evaluation recommends strengthening monitoring, evaluation and learning systems including to track results into IFI implementation stages, broadening partnerships such as to engage private capital alongside development banks, and deepening policy and beneficiary support channels to sustain systemic impact. Such findings will inform the design of AAAP 2.0, the next phase of the program, set to commence as of the start of 2026.
GCA leaders hailed the findings and set out next steps to accelerate momentum in the program’s second phase (AAAP 2.0).

Ban Ki-moon, Honorary Chair of the Global Center on Adaptation and 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations, said “AAAP’s pioneering ambition has translated into tangible, climate-resilient investment at scale. The world must now match Africa’s resolve: close the adaptation finance gap and support programs that turn evidence into action across systems.”

H.E. Macky Sall, Chair of the Global Center on Adaptation and 4th President of Senegal, said “This evaluation confirms the Africa-designed and Africa-led AAAP works. Our task now is to scale it: anchor adaptation in national budgets and policies, unlock domestic and international private capital and move from pilot successes to continent-wide resilience. We will take AAAP 2.0 forward with urgency and unity.”

Notes to Editors

About the AAAP Evaluation
Following an open request for proposals issued by the GCA, the Boston Consulting Group’s independent evaluation was commissioned to review AAAP and its Upstream Financing Facility’s performance from 2021–2025 using an OECD-DAC+ framework. The analysis combined qualitative and quantitative evidence, including dozens of project-level case assessments, extensive stakeholder interviews and value-for-money analysis, to assess effectiveness, efficiency, additionality and sustainability.

About the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP)
Launched in 2021 by the African Development Bank, the African Union Commission and the Global Center on Adaptation, AAAP’s Upstream Financing Facility supports governments and international financial institutions to mainstream adaptation in large-scale investments through technical assistance, policy support, capacity building and knowledge brokering—acting as a high-leverage, catalytic “solutions-broker.

About the Global Center on Adaptation
The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) is an international organization that promotes adaptation to the impacts of climate change. It works to climate-proof development by instigating policy reforms and influencing investments made by international financial institutions and the private sector. The goal is to bring climate adaptation to the forefront of the global fight against climate change and ensure that it remains prominent. Founded in 2018, GCA is the first international organization to maintain dual headquarters in both the Global North in Rotterdam and in the Global South in Nairobi – underscoring the equal partnership between regions and the conviction that climate adaptation solutions must be co-designed and co-owned. Its regional hubs in Abidjan, Dhaka and Beijing, leverage local expertise to pilot and scale context-specific approaches. Together, these centers ensure a continuous, two-way exchange of knowledge and best practices that empower communities and drive resilient and inclusive growth worldwide.

Alexandra Gee Global Center on Adaptation +447887804594 alex.gee@gca.org