About us
Since 2021, SSA has grown into a pan-African technical platform operating across 25+ countries — partnering with governments, institutions and communities to build lasting solutions.
Our story
The challenge in Africa is that we don't always have the necessary tools to do things properly. My ambition is to contribute to an emerging class of young Africans who do have the tools and skills to effectively accomplish our goals.
– Sandra Freitas, CEO of SSA, Joke Waller-Hunter (JWH) Initiative grantee, 2008-2009
We believe Africa does not lack vision.
Across Africa, climate change is no longer a distant threat. It shapes our livelihoods, our food systems, our infrastructure, and our futures. Yet too often, the challenge is not ambition it is access to the right tools, the right skills, and the right systems to turn ambition into action.
We do not lack talent. What we have lacked, for too long, are the locally grounded experts, technical tools, financial structures, and institutional capabilities needed to design and deliver climate-resilient development at scale. SSA was created to help change that.
We are an African-led, pan-African technical platform for climate finance. Headquartered in Lomé, Togo, and operating across more than 25 African countries, SSA partners with governments, local communities, financial actors, enterprises, regional organisations, and international partners to map climate risks, build capacity, design solutions, and deliver sustainable investments that respond to the continent's realities.
As a fully not-for-profit organisation, we invest all resources into strengthening African capacity and delivering where it matters most. Together with our partners, we build the systems that allow climate strategies to move from policy documents to funded programmes and on-the-ground impact.
Our story is not about importing solutions. It is about equipping Africa with the tools and expertise to shape and finance its own climate future.
We transform ambition for change into practical, sustainable solutions for Africa.
Our approach
An integrated methodology across
the full value chain.
SSA does not operate in silos. Our work is structured around an end-to-end methodology that connects scientific evidence to on-the-ground implementation — ensuring that every intervention is grounded in data, shaped by policy, and built for lasting impact.
This integrated approach means our partners benefit from seamless coordination across disciplines, eliminating the gaps that so often undermine development programmes in practice.
Our Operating Model
SSA operates as a fully integrated technical platform rather than a traditional consulting firm. We embed our specialists directly within client teams, build local systems and capacity, and maintain long-term institutional relationships. This approach allows us to move seamlessly from strategic advice to practical implementation — always with sustainability and African ownership as our north star.
Our core principles
Africa-led
Our solutions are grounded in African priorities and realities. We design for the institutional, economic, and social contexts in which solutions must work.
Sustainable solutions
We combine technical rigour, practical insight and hands-on experience. We use this to translate ambition into end-to-end solutions.
Partnerships for impact
We build long-term partnerships grounded on impact. We serve as a strategic partner to governments and organizations committed to advancing resilience across Africa.
Investing in capacity
We invest in people and training. We build lasting, local expertise within governments, financial institutions, enterprises and local communities.
Innovation & system-building
We develop tools, platforms and knowledge to shape systems at scale – from academies and incubators to digital and financing platforms designed for replication.
Our team
Our people are our key to unlocking impact. We are a diverse, African-led, multidisciplinary team of experts united by a shared commitment to climate-resilient development for Africa. We operate bilingually in English and French and work seamlessly across Anglophone and Francophone contexts.
Meet the Specialists
Our Partners
Trusted, long-term partnerships
SSA works through trusted, long-term partnerships to deliver sustainable solutions and impact for Africa. We serve as a technical partner to the Africa Adaptation Initiative, and collaborate with a diverse range of philanthropic foundations, climate funds, bilateral agencies, and leading African financial institutions.
Our governance
SSA is governed with a clear commitment to results-based management for public benefit, transparent financial management, and accountability to funders and partners.
We implement robust governance and oversight arrangements that support sound decision-making, responsible risk management, and the effective delivery of complex climate finance programmes for long-term impact.
Our fully not-for-profit model combines programme-based financing, technical assistance contracts, strategic partnerships, and the development of high-value tools for the climate finance ecosystem. Consistent with its not-for-profit mandate, SSA distributes no private profit and reinvests all surpluses into strengthening capabilities, systems, and impact—ensuring that resources are used solely to advance climate resilience and sustainable development across Africa.