Overview

The objective of the Multi-Donor Trust Fund is to support activities that deepen the regional integration of the countries of the Horn of Africa, in line with the purposes of the Horn of Africa Initiative. The activities to be financed by the Trust Fund are undertaken within the context of the HoAI. The current scope of the HoAI is described by the following four pillars:

  • Pillar 1: An Interconnected Horn will implement cross-border regional infrastructure projects across a spectrum of thematic areas such as economic transport corridors, energy, and digital among others, and address policy and regulatory aspects of developing regional markets.
  • Pillar 2: More Trade, More Growth, More Jobs will focus on trade and economic integration covering trade facilitation, regional value chains, and improvements in the investment climate. Activities supported under this pillar could include topics such as logistics, behind-the-border regulatory convergence, trade strategy and negotiations, and planning and facilitation of cross-border infrastructure, particularly in the areas of urban infrastructure, transport, trade facilitation, and private sector development.
  • Pillar 3: A Resilient Horn will focus on building resilience to climatic shocks, e.g. recurrent droughts I floods, the current locust crisis, and conflict and displacement. Activities supported could include implementing effective mitigation practices and adaptation mechanisms such as innovative financing instruments ranging from insurance schemes to concessional financing for climate- or refugee-related interventions.
  • Pillar 4: A Skilled Horn will focus on human capital development to find regional solutions to improve human capital and service delivery in view of the current global health pandemic and its potential long-term impacts. Activities support under this pillar could include strengthening regional epidemic preparedness and response systems, developing platforms for addressing skills development of youth, and setting up interoperable ID systems to allow improved targeting of safety net programs.

For further information and for partners interested in joining the Multi-Donor Trust Fund, please contact the World Bank via email. hoamdtf [at] worldbank.org (hoamdtf[at]worldbank[dot]org)

Activities

Three broad types of activities that will be supported by the Multi-Donor Trust Fund will include the following.

  • Advisory Services, Technical Assistance to Design Bankable Projects, and capacity building through studies, policy notes, analytics etc to inform upstream project development; reform diagnostics and policy recommendations; policy harmonization and institutional strengthening; project preparation or identification, e.g. feasibility and design; identification of spillovers; social and environmental and social safeguards studies, assessments, and preparation of project-related action plans; capacity-building support to countries on HoA priorities and regional integration.
  • Convening of countries and stakeholders such as through conferences and workshops on thematic areas related to regional integration; outreach activities that provide a platform for dialogue between key stakeholders (e.g. CSOs, youth groups, media, non-governmental organizations) and also that enable the capture and dissemination of good practices using a variety of communication/media tools; support for maintaining the HoA Initiative website; twinning between institutions in Africa and OECD countries); South-South knowledge exchange; support for the HoA  Secretariat etc.
  • Financing of projects as a funder of last resort, essentially to support the inclusion of a country in regional programs where unavailability of support from the Trust Fund will result in exclusion.

Donors

The European Union (EU) and BMZ Germany are contributing partners to the Horn of Africa Umbrella Program (HoA UP) Multi-Donor Trust Fund (MDTF), administered by the World Bank Group in support of the Horn of Africa Initiative priority projects.

As of April 1, 2026, total confirmed contributions to the HoA UP MDTF amount to €56.0 million, comprising:

  • European Union (EU): €46.0 million (including €7.5 million under processing)

  • BMZ Germany: €10.0 million

These resources support regional integration, policy coordination, and preparation of high-impact regional investments across the Horn of Africa.

Funded Activities

As of April 1, 2026, the HoA portfolio includes:

  • 45 ASA & Technical Assistance (TA) activities

  • Total ASA & TA envelope of USD 76.40 million

These activities support preparation, implementation, and analytical work across the four HoA pillars:

  1. Regional Infrastructure Networks

  2. Trade and Economic Integration

  3. Building Resilience

  4. Strengthening Human Capital

HoA MDTF resources continue to leverage significant additional financing from IDA and other Development Partners, strengthening regional integration and accelerating cross-border investment programs across the Horn of Africa.