The Green Climate Fund wrapped up its 44th Board meeting in Songdo, South Korea on March 28 with two landmark decisions: $960.3 million in new climate finance across 18 projects and the selection of five cities to host the fund's first-ever regional offices. With its portfolio now exceeding $20 billion across 354 projects, the GCF is entering a new phase of decentralized operations that will reshape how climate procurement reaches developing countries.
What the Board Approved: $960 Million Across 18 Projects
The B.44 meeting, held from March 25 to 28, approved 18 new projects spanning adaptation, mitigation, and cross-cutting climate investments. Nearly half of the new funding — $441 million, or 46 percent — is directed to Africa, reinforcing the continent's position as the primary destination for GCF climate finance.
Eight of the 18 projects are adaptation-only investments, with adaptation accounting for 56 percent of the total in grant-equivalent terms. Direct Access Entities — organizations based in developing countries — represent 25 percent of the approved funding, signaling a continued push toward locally-led climate action.
The largest single approval was ASCENT-GREEN, a $250 million programme implemented with the World Bank to deliver resilient energy access across 21 countries in Eastern and Southern Africa. The programme will channel result-based financing and grants to distributed renewable energy and clean cooking companies, targeting equity investments that help these firms scale across the region.
Other notable approvals include:
- Chad (SAP066): The GCF's first-ever single-country investment in Chad, focused on strengthening adaptation for land and ecosystems
- Jamaica (FP299): ADAPT Jamaica, supporting smallholder agricultural resilience — also a GCF first for the country
- The Bahamas (FP298): Water sector climate resilience, another first single-country investment
- Ethiopia (FP289): Nature-based urban climate resilience solutions
- Mozambique (FP290): PURE Rural, combining energy access with climate-smart agriculture
- Kenya (FP292): Climate-smart solutions for MSMEs and farmers
- Vietnam (FP294): REDD-plus results-based payments for forest conservation
- Peru (FP300): Peru's Natural Legacy programme for Amazon conservation and climate action
- Brazil (FP301): Responsible Commodities Facility targeting sustainable soy in the Cerrado
- Zambia (SAP067): Climate risk protection for smallholder farmers
- Armenia (SAP068): Monitoring and early warning systems for climate hazards
- Ecuador (SAP069): Community resilience with food security focus (FORECCSA+)
- Pacific Islands (FP295): Climate-resilient regenerative agriculture across Tonga, Vanuatu, and Samoa
Multi-country investment vehicles were also approved, including the Navis Decarbonization Fund (FP296), the CC Asia Climate Fund (FP297), the Food Securities Fund for cocoa and coffee value chains (FP293), and EcoEnterprises Partners IV (FP302).
Five Regional Offices: A Landmark Decentralization
In what Executive Director Mafalda Duarte called "a landmark moment for GCF," the Board selected host countries for the fund's first-ever regional offices. Until now, the GCF has operated entirely from its headquarters in Songdo, South Korea — a geographic distance that has been a persistent barrier for developing countries seeking to access its funding.
The five new office locations cover all major developing regions:
- Panama City, Panama — serving Latin America and the Caribbean
- Amman, Jordan — covering Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East
- Nairobi, Kenya — serving East and Southern Africa
- Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire — covering Central, North, and West Africa
- Suva, Fiji — serving the Pacific
The Songdo headquarters will continue to cover East, Southeast, and South Asia directly.
The locations were selected from a pool of 43 countries that submitted bids to host the new offices, underscoring strong demand from governments to be physically closer to the GCF. The regional offices will coordinate with National Designated Authorities and Accredited Entities, accelerate project preparation, and strengthen implementation monitoring.
Why This Matters for Climate Procurement
The combination of nearly $1 billion in new project funding and a decentralized operational structure creates significant procurement opportunities across multiple sectors and geographies.
Direct Project Procurement
Each of the 18 approved projects will generate procurement activity as they move from approval to implementation. The pipeline includes:
- Energy infrastructure: ASCENT-GREEN alone will drive energy tenders across 21 African countries for distributed renewable energy systems, mini-grids, clean cooking technology, and related installation services
- Agriculture and food security: Projects in Zambia, Jamaica, Ecuador, Kenya, and the Pacific Islands will procure climate-smart agricultural inputs, irrigation systems, weather monitoring equipment, and advisory consulting services
- Water and sanitation: The Bahamas water sector resilience project will generate tenders for water infrastructure, desalination, and climate-proofing works
- Environmental consulting: Peru's Amazon programme and Brazil's Cerrado facility will require environmental assessment, monitoring systems, and consulting contracts
- Early warning systems: Armenia's project and similar adaptation investments will procure meteorological equipment, IT infrastructure, and technology services
- Construction and civil works: Urban resilience projects in Ethiopia and rural energy installations across Mozambique will drive infrastructure works contracts
The Regional Office Effect
The regional offices will likely accelerate procurement timelines by reducing the bureaucratic distance between project developers and the GCF. Faster project preparation means shorter intervals between approval and first procurement. For contractors and consultants, this translates to:
- Earlier visibility into upcoming tenders through closer engagement with national authorities
- More frequent interaction opportunities with GCF-funded implementing partners
- Better alignment between project design and local market capabilities
- Streamlined accreditation pathways for local Direct Access Entities
New Accredited Entities Mean New Procurement Channels
The Board also approved 10 new accredited entities, including six Direct Access Entities from Barbados, Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, the Republic of Korea, and the State of Palestine. Each newly accredited entity becomes a potential procurement channel — these organizations will develop and implement GCF-funded projects, issuing tenders for services, supplies, and works under GCF procurement guidelines.
International organizations approved at B.44 include the World Health Organization, World Vision Australia, and Catholic Relief Services, each of which will bring additional climate-focused procurement activity to their respective regions of operation.
Countries and Regions Affected
Africa
Africa is the biggest beneficiary of B.44, receiving 46 percent of new funding. Seven approved projects span the continent:
- Eastern and Southern Africa: The ASCENT-GREEN programme covers 21 countries including Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia, Ethiopia, and others in the COMESA region. Two regional offices — Nairobi and Abidjan — will serve the continent.
- Chad: Receiving its first-ever GCF single-country investment, focused on land and ecosystem adaptation.
- Nigeria: A newly accredited Direct Access Entity from Nigeria opens a new pathway for climate project development and procurement in West Africa's largest economy.
Co-Chair Seyni Nafo of Mali noted: "Nearly half of our new investments directed to Africa...we are reaching communities that need climate finance the most."
Latin America and the Caribbean
The Panama City regional office will serve the entire LAC region. New projects in Peru, Brazil, Jamaica, The Bahamas, and Ecuador represent significant climate procurement across the hemisphere. Jamaica and The Bahamas received their first GCF single-country investments, marking a new frontier for Caribbean procurement.
Asia and Pacific
Vietnam's REDD-plus results-based payments, the CC Asia Climate Fund, and the Pacific Islands agriculture programme expand GCF's footprint across the region. The Suva, Fiji office will specifically address the Pacific's acute climate vulnerability, while the Songdo headquarters continues to serve South, East, and Southeast Asian countries.
Middle East and Central Asia
The Amman, Jordan office will coordinate GCF activities across Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East. Armenia's early warning systems project demonstrates GCF engagement in the Caucasus, while newly accredited entities from Kyrgyzstan and the State of Palestine open new channels in Central Asia and the Middle East.
What This Means for Contractors
The $960 million approved at B.44 will flow through Accredited Entities — typically development banks like the World Bank, national institutions, UN agencies, and private sector partners — that will issue procurement under GCF-funded projects. Here is how contractors can position themselves:
- Monitor Accredited Entity procurement portals: The World Bank (ASCENT-GREEN), UNDP, FAO, and other implementing partners will publish tenders on their respective platforms. Track these on BidsFactory's energy and agriculture pages.
- Engage with newly accredited entities: Organizations from Barbados, Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Korea, and Palestine are building their GCF project pipelines. Early engagement can position firms for upcoming tenders.
- Target adaptation sectors: With 56 percent of B.44 funding going to adaptation, firms specializing in climate resilience — early warning systems, water infrastructure, climate-smart agriculture, coastal protection — are well positioned.
- Prepare for regional office engagement: As the five regional offices become operational, they will host stakeholder consultations and project preparation workshops. Firms active in host countries (Panama, Jordan, Kenya, Côte d'Ivoire, Fiji) will have proximity advantages.
- Build GCF procurement track records: GCF-funded projects follow specific procurement guidelines. Firms with experience in multilateral development bank procurement — particularly the World Bank and AfDB — will find familiar processes.
Looking Ahead
The B.44 outcomes set the stage for a busy 2026 in climate procurement. The 18 approved projects will begin issuing tenders as implementing agencies finalize project designs and launch procurement processes — typically within 6 to 12 months of board approval. The regional offices are expected to begin operations progressively, with the GCF Board scheduled to review an operationalization assessment at a future meeting.
With the GCF portfolio now exceeding $20 billion and a 2030 target of $120 billion in annual collective climate finance from all MDBs, the climate procurement pipeline will only grow. Contractors and consultants should browse current climate and energy tenders on BidsFactory and monitor upcoming opportunities across the sectors and countries highlighted in this approval cycle.
