By Abdullahi Lukman
The African Development Bank Group has concluded a stakeholder consultation workshop that brought together business leaders, policymakers, and development partners to strengthen youth-led climate adaptation solutions under the next phase of its YouthADAPT programme.
The consultation reviewed experiences from the programme’s first three cycles, drew out key lessons, and explored how to shape the fourth cycle.
Participants emphasized the need to move beyond one-off grant funding by strengthening post-award support, improving access to markets and investors, and developing more sustainable financing models for early-stage climate ventures.
YouthADAPT, a flagship initiative of the African Development Bank, supports youth-owned businesses delivering innovative climate adaptation solutions across Africa.
Funded through the Youth Entrepreneurship Multi-Donor Trust Fund and the Africa Climate Change Fund, the programme has, between 2021 and 2025, supported 39 enterprises in 20 countries and contributed to about 11,000 jobs.
Notably, women-led businesses made up 63 percent of beneficiaries, highlighting the programme’s role in promoting inclusive climate entrepreneurship.
Opening the session, Al-Hamndou Dorsouma, Manager for Climate and Green Growth at the Bank, stressed the importance of youth innovation in tackling climate challenges.
He noted that Africa’s young population, combined with its climate vulnerability, presents both a challenge and an opportunity, with innovation serving as a critical link between the two.
YouthADAPT Coordinator Edith Ofwona Adera described the programme as being at a turning point, calling for lessons from earlier phases to inform a stronger and more durable framework that better supports young innovators.
Mary Kashangiki of Financial Sector Deepening Africa also highlighted the importance of partnerships and shared learning, noting that insights from the consultation could help strengthen climate innovation financing efforts across the continent.
Participants agreed that the next phase should be more entrepreneur-focused, ensuring support aligns with real needs in financing, skills development, and market access.
They also stressed the importance of building a stronger support ecosystem, including earlier investor engagement, improved venture-building support, stronger local partnerships, and clearer pathways from grants to sustainable financing.
Discussions also revisited findings from a pre-workshop survey, which pointed to risks such as weak transitions to private finance, programme designs that do not fully reflect local market conditions, and heavy reliance on single delivery partners.
A key recommendation was to introduce clearer financing pathways, combining grants with milestone-based funding, revenue-linked instruments where appropriate, and advisory support to attract follow-on investment.
This approach aims to reduce long-term dependence on grants while helping businesses become investment-ready without exposing them to unsuitable financial structures.
The workshop concluded with an agreement to consolidate insights into a refined programme design, carry out further consultations, and collaborate with partners to develop a scalable, results-driven model for the fourth cycle of YouthADAPT.