WAA Academy: training the experts who will turn carbon markets into a lever for West Africa

Carbon markets will only deliver on their promise for West Africa if the region has the skills to master them: designing projects, assessing them, financing them and guaranteeing their integrity. As carbon markets and the implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement evolve, one question is becoming central: who in our countries will carry this expertise? Without strong local skills, the region risks remaining a spectator to mechanisms that directly concern it.

To address this, the West African Alliance on Carbon Markets and Climate Finance launched the WAA Academy (West Africa Academy on Carbon Markets & Climate Finance) at the Carbon Market Hub in Pointe Sarène, Senegal, in 2025. Its mission is to offer training programmes tailored to each category of actor in the carbon ecosystem, in order to build a critical mass of West African experts able to develop, assess, finance, communicate and support the implementation of carbon projects.

The Academy will offer tailored learning pathways for five audiences:
– governments and public institutions;
– financial institutions;
– the private sector, project developers and auditors;
– civil society and communities;
– young professionals, career changers, students and researchers.

Momentum is already building with the financial sector. The Alliance recently held two capacity-building workshops for the region’s financial actors: one in Nigeria for English-speaking countries and one in Côte d’Ivoire for French-speaking countries, with participants from Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Togo. On that occasion, Fanta C. Diop, Francophone Expert with the Alliance, presented the WAA Academy and its objectives. These workshops provided a clearer picture of financial institutions’ needs in carbon markets, climate finance, project assessment and risk management. These needs are directly shaping the design of the Carbon Finance & Markets pathway.

Next step: finalise partnerships and curricula, with a view to launching a first pilot cohort in January 2027.

Would you like to collaborate on this initiative or be informed about upcoming training? Fill in the WAA Academy expression of interest form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdMArNLeQ73wgbtKmJTJgqaFcd6zxPumV8G6JFWpkBRBysWVA/viewform?usp=header