Around 35 participants from 23 organisations are being trained to develop investment-ready Green Climate Fund concept notes through intensive mentoring, technical sessions and proposal pitching.
A five-day Climate Finance Leadership Incubation Lab aimed at developing Bangladesh’s capacity to prepare investment-ready proposals for the Green Climate Fund has begun at BRAC CDM in Rajendrapur, Gazipur on Sunday.
The programme, running from August 9 to 13, is designed as a mentor-guided, session-by-session exercise in drafting GCF (Green Climate Fund) Project Concept Notes, with each participant expected to develop a concept note based on an initial project idea, foundational training and intensive mentoring.
The International Climate Finance Cell of the Economic Relations Division under the Ministry of Finance is organising the programme with financial and technical support from the Asian Development Bank.
The participant roster includes around 35 representatives from 23 organisations, covering six broad institutional sectors: government, international and development organisations, private sector and banking, academia and research, civil society and media. Participants include officials and professionals working in economic relations, disaster management, environment and climate change, agriculture, fisheries, livestock, local government infrastructure, finance, water modelling and other fields.
AKM Sohel, Additional Secretary and UN Wing Chief at the Economic Relations Division, inaugurated the training, saying it was the first such programme in Bangladesh aimed specifically at developing leaders capable of preparing proposals to access GCF financing.
Sohel said the incubation lab differed from previous training programmes because participants would not only learn about climate finance but would work through the actual process of preparing project proposals.
Nargis Fatima, Senior Project Assistant, Bangladesh Resident Mission gave a welcome speech during inauguration.
The programme describes its broader commitment as accelerating climate finance mobilisation by designing strategic and investment-ready climate projects, with an emphasis on turning climate literacy, knowledge and skills into practical project concepts.
On the opening day, Dr Shah Abdul Saadi, Joint Secretary at the ERD, conducted sessions on orientation to the GCF Concept Note template, framing of the Climate Finance Leadership Incubation Lab, rules of engagement and a walk-through of Sections A to F of the GCF template. The programme also introduced participants to the Independent Technical Advisory Panel, or iTAP, scoring lens. AKM Sohel, Shah Abdul Saadi and GCF Liaison Officer Juel Mahmud were listed as mentors for the opening session.
The following sessions will take participants through climate problems and solutions, climate impact and sustainability, financing structures, country ownership, safeguards, risks, executive summaries and basic proposal data.
On the final day, participants will present their GCF Concept Notes through five-minute pitches and receive mentor feedback and assessments. The programme plans to recognise three Diamond, three Gold and four Silver GCF Concept Notes.
