MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s push to unlock climate finance moved a step forward Sunday as the National Climate Fund (NCF), in partnership with the Somali Bankers Association (SBA), held the country’s first climate finance training for Somali banks in Mogadishu.
The session introduced bank executives and risk, credit, and product teams to the global climate finance architecture — how major international climate funds operate and where opportunities exist for Somalia’s private sector. It also served as a peer forum for Somali banking professionals to compare approaches for accessing climate finance and channeling it to customers to strengthen community-level resilience.
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- Overview of international climate funds and approval pathways
- Opportunities for private-sector participation in adaptation and mitigation
- Practical strategies to structure and on-lend climate finance to clients
“Somali banks are the backbone of the economy and a key enabler of current and future climate financing,” said Liban Obsiye, executive director of the National Climate Fund. “The NCF is committed to ensuring strong private-sector participation in national resilience-building efforts.”
SBA Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ahmed Khadar A. Jama called the training “timely and essential” as the global climate finance landscape evolves. “This climate finance workshop is significant for Somali bankers, as it helps them build expertise and take advantage of emerging business opportunities that can contribute to Somalia’s economic development,” he said.
Representatives from all Somali banks attended. Many institutions already hold portfolios in climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture and energy — areas where concessional capital and risk-sharing tools linked to climate funds could accelerate resilient growth.
The initiative was supported by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s Pioneer Country Trials program, which pilots coordinated approaches to mobilizing and delivering climate finance in selected countries, including Somalia. The UK-backed effort supports Somalia in addressing severe climate vulnerability by providing technical and financial assistance, strengthening national climate planning, and improving access to global climate finance mechanisms.
The National Climate Fund is a country-led financing mechanism designed to mobilize, manage, and channel climate finance for adaptation and mitigation projects across Somalia. By linking domestic institutions with international climate funds, the NCF aims to seed bankable projects, de-risk private investment, and ensure that climate resources reach businesses and households on the front lines of droughts, floods, and other climate shocks.
Sunday’s training underscores a broader shift to place Somali banks at the center of climate resilience — not only as lenders, but as partners capable of structuring and deploying climate capital at scale across the economy.
By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
