Developing country governments, supported by development partners, have a key role to play in enabling sustainable and inclusive private adaptation in semi-arid lands and in unlocking the potential of the private sector for adaptation. This policy brief distils broad lessons from the Pathways to Resilience in Semi-arid Economies (PRISE) project about the kinds of policies, institutions and other public investments that can support adaptation and climate-resilient development across a broad range of private actors.