The Africa Borderlands' Centre (2021-2025) was established in 2020 as a specialized centre that treats border regions as distinct economic and political zones in their own right. The Borderlands Centre offers specialized, expert knowledge and technical advice that will enable the better design, implementation, and adaptation of development programmes for border regions across Africa. It's knowledge and innovation products will support borderland communities, national governments, inter-governmental agencies, UNDP country offices, UN agencies, development partners and other key stakeholders in addressing complex development challenges.

During the Project Initiation Plan (PIP) phase in 2020, the centre completed the formulation of its project document, recruitment of staff and implementation of some quick impact activities, It also engaged in strategic discussions with key partners including the AU, EU, the World Bank, Germany and Japan.

In preparation for the commencement of project implementation, the Borderlands Centre conducted its maiden annual retreat in December 2020, during which it decided to prioritize catalytic investments in co-creation of innovative solutions through the borderlands laboratory, research and data, partnership strengthening and technical support to ongoing and new UNDP cross-border programming, in line with the project's Multi-Year Work Plan.