In September 2025, Cape Town hosted a milestone event marking the culmination of five years of work under the Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA). Since its launch, AFCIA has supported 44 organizations with US$8.3 million in grants and an additional $6 million in technical assistance and capacity building. These resources have enabled grantees to reach 2.6 million people—54 percent of them women—restore or protect 29,000 hectares of land, generate 1,300 green jobs, improve the livelihoods of over 21,700 households and improve productivity related skills for 47,132 individuals. UNDP-AFCIA grantees have also reported, to date, to have collectively unlocked additional $4,087,000 in financial resources. The gathering brought together all 44 organizations - alongside representatives from UNDP, the Adaptation Fund, leading universities like Oxford, Yale and University of Cape Town, investors, philanthropies and partners such as the Global Resilience Partnership - to celebrate the impact of the programme in advancing locally-led innovative adaptation solutions, while creating space to reflect on lessons learned and explore pathways for scaling local innovation in climate adaptation. Learn more: https://www.adaptation-undp.org/undp-afcia-global-closure-workshop-celebrating-five-years-grassroots-climate-innovation