Four adaptation solutions moving from pilot to scale
From drought-resistant farming systems to AI-powered early warning technologies, new ideas are helping communities adapt to increasingly unpredictable conditions. Yet many promising innovations face a familiar challenge: they succeed as pilots but never receive the investment needed to reach the people who need them most.
The Adaptation Fund Climate Innovation Accelerator (AFCIA) was created to help overcome this barrier. By providing technical assistance for early-stage adaptation innovations, AFCIA enables innovators to test new approaches in real-world conditions, and crucially, it also helps projects attract new partners and finance needed to scale.
That approach is already delivering results.
Here are four examples of adaptation innovations making the journey from pilot to scale.
1. Digital crop insurance in Mongolia
Climate change is making Mongolia's harsh climate even more unpredictable, exposing livestock herders to greater financial risk.
With technical assistance from the Climate Technology Centre and Network (UN CTCN), partners piloted an innovative digital crop insurance product. When disaster occurs, farmers can send photographs from their phones directly to insurance companies to streamline insurance processes and payouts at a faster speed.
The US$200,000 pilot proved sufficiently promising to attract US$7.5 million from the Government of Canada and it now has the potential to benefit more than 3.4 million herders, representing around 30 per cent of Mongolia's population.
2. Transforming weather forecasting in Malawi
Following the devastation caused by Cyclone Freddy in 2023, Malawi urgently needed faster and more accurate weather forecasting systems.
Traditional paper-based observation methods often delayed data collection by weeks, limiting the ability of authorities to prepare for disasters. AFCIA supported the testing of a simple but transformative alternative: trained community observers submit daily rainfall and water level readings through free SMS messages, with the information immediately uploaded to the national BlueIQ platform and analysed using AI.
The system provides near real-time weather data, helping authorities improve forecasts and position emergency assistance more effectively.
3. Tackling wildfires with AI technology in Georgia
Rising temperatures and increasing drought are placing Georgia's forests under growing wildfire threat.
Georgia piloted an advanced early warning system that combines solar-powered monitoring towers, satellite connectivity and artificial intelligence to detect even the smallest signs of smoke. Long-range drones and a centralized digital mapping platform help emergency responders identify and reach fires before they become major disasters.
The technology impressed national authorities, prompting the Agency of Protected Areas to co-finance additional equipment covering approximately 12,000 hectares of protected land. The investment demonstrates how successful pilots can rapidly become embedded within national disaster management systems.
4. Portable flood barriers in Burundi
Flooding regularly destroys crops and livelihoods across parts of Burundi, threatening food security.
WaveDam is an innovative portable flood barrier that can be rapidly deployed using water pumped from nearby rivers or lakes. Unlike traditional sandbag defenses, the barriers can be installed quickly by just two people while simultaneously storing water for irrigation during dry periods.
The innovative solution was recently listed in MIT's top 10 climate tech to watch in 2026.
The pilot is now being expanded to a nationwide effort across 14 provinces.
From innovation to transformation
These four examples demonstrate that adaptation innovation is about much more than developing new technologies. It is about creating solutions that can attract investment and ultimately improve lives at scale.
By investing $5 million into 25 different adaptation innovations, UN CTCN’s AFCIA programme has now attracted an additional $18 million from a combination of public and private sources to bring innovations like these to scale.
AFCIA itself is also expanding. What began as a partnership between the CTCN and UNDP has entered a second phase that now includes the World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Pacific Community (SPC), bringing the overall value of AFCIA to nearly US$60 million, with additional partners expected to join in the coming months.