GCA and Dhamana Partner to Mobilize Domestic Capital for Climate Resilience in Africa
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ondon, United Kingdom, 26 June 2025 – The Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) and Dhamana Guarantee Company Ltd (“Dhamana”) announced at London Climate Action Week today a landmark partnership aimed at unlocking domestic sources of finance to bolster climate-resilient infrastructure across Africa by bringing together GCA’s technical expertise with Dhamana’s pioneering local-currency guarantee platform.
Africa’s institutional investors—including pension funds, insurers, and sovereign wealth funds—hold over USD 1.8 trillion in capital, yet allocates a fraction of that to climate-resilient projects. By developing geospatial risk analytics to identify and prioritize projects, delivering bespoke training and executive masterclasses for African pension funds, insurers, and banks, and co-designing guarantee products denominated in local currency, the partnership will reduce foreign-exchange risk and make resilience investments more attractive to domestic investors. In addition, GCA and Dhamana will produce policy briefs and host investor dialogues under the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program to exchange knowledge and showcase successful financing models.
“Mobilizing Africa’s own capital markets is pivotal for durable climate resilience,” said Professor Patrick V. Verkooijen, President and CEO of the Global Center on Adaptation. “This partnership with Dhamana will unlock the risk-mitigation tools needed to channel billions in domestic assets into projects that protect communities and economies.”
“Our guarantee platform is designed to bridge the gap between domestic investors and resilient infrastructure,” said Christopher Olobo, CEO of Dhamana. “Working with GCA, we’ll tailor guarantee solutions in local currency that derisk projects and empower African institutions to finance their own future.”
Over the next two years, GCA and Dhamana will pilot guarantee facilities in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Rwanda, targeting renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, and water-management systems. Lessons learned from these pilots will inform expansion to additional markets, positioning domestic capital as a cornerstone of Africa’s climate adaptation finance architecture.
Notes to Editors
About the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP)
A joint initiative by the African Development Bank and GCA, AAAP aims to mobilize $25 billion to scale up climate adaptation in Africa. To date, the program has integrated adaptation into over $15 billion of investment across 40 countries.
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 embodies innovation in its approach to climate adaptation as well as in its physical presence. It operates from the largest floating office in the world, in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. GCA has a worldwide network of regional offices in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire; Dhaka, Bangladesh; and Beijing, China. The Center is opening a new office in Nairobi, Kenya in 2025 (https://gca.org/).
About Dhamana Guarantee Company Ltd
Dhamana Guarantee Company (‘Dhamana’) is a specialized financial institution that provides local currency guarantees to unlock domestic capital for impactful investments in East Africa (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda). By mitigating credit risk, Dhamana helps projects and businesses access long-term financing from local institutional investors such as pension funds. With a focus on infrastructure, structured finance, and public sector lending, Dhamana plays a critical role in mobilizing domestic liquidity to drive inclusive economic growth and resilience across the region. Dhamana’s shareholding includes the Private Infrastructure Development Group (PIDG), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and County Pension Fund (CPF) Group—each bringing strategic value and commitment to strengthening East Africa’s capital markets (https://www.dhamana.com/).
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