Search Climate Insights Directory

The Agri-Smallholder Resilience Fund (ASRF) is a USD 22.5 million blended finance vehicle designed to address a USD 7 billion agricultural credit gap in the Philippines. Managed by the agri-tech platform Mayani, the fund utilizes a three-tier capital structure—comprising senior debt (50%), junior debt (30%), and catalytic first-loss capital (20%)—to provide loans to agri-aqua cooperatives. The ASRF employs a 'whole-of-value-chain' de-risking strategy that bundles working capital with parametric insurance, corporate offtake agreements, climate-smart inputs, and cold storage infrastructure. A USD 1 million pilot targeting 2,800 farmers in the Cordillera Mountain region will precede a full rollout aiming to reach 8,800 smallholders over five years. The fund targets a debtholder internal rate of return (IRR) of approximately 9% and projects annual greenhouse gas emission reductions of 4,400 to 10,600 tonnes of CO2e for the pilot phase.

Carbon Neobank is a digital financial vehicle designed to bridge the USD 331 billion SME finance gap in Africa by integrating international carbon markets into business banking. Headquartered in Kenya, it offers three primary products: receivables loans, unsecured working capital loans, and carbon-backed term loans, targeting a USD 1 billion total addressable market. The vehicle utilizes a digital-first model, leveraging a partnership with Ecobank for geographic reach across 33 countries and employing digital Measurement, Reporting, and Verification (dMRV) to monetize emission reductions. A USD 10.8 million pilot is planned to demonstrate the model's ability to mobilize private capital and deliver climate outcomes, including an estimated 6.097 million tCO2e in emission reductions over 10 years. The bank specifically targets the agricultural sector and women-led businesses to promote an inclusive green transition.

The Clean Economy Fund (CEF) is a USD 75 million structured-equity fund targeting a financing gap for Indian climate tech companies seeking USD 1-10 million. It employs a two-stage investment approach using convertible notes for early commercialization and direct equity for early growth, supported by a 20% junior tranche to absorb downside risks from non-converting notes. The fund focuses on three verticals: industrial solutions, energy systems, and the built environment. It aims for a first close of USD 35-40 million by mid-to-late 2026, targeting a mitigation impact of 15 megatons of CO2e over ten years.

The Community Equity Opportunity Fund (CEOF), led by Meliquina Partners, is a blended finance facility designed to overcome capital and governance barriers that exclude rural and Indigenous communities from the economic benefits of the energy transition in Latin America. By providing milestone-based development loans and catalytic equity, the fund enables community co-ownership of renewable energy projects from early development through operations. The model includes a mechanism for communities to execute a leveraged buyout (LBO) of the fund's equity position approximately two years after the commercial operation date, supported by external credit guarantees. Targeting a fund size of USD 35-40 million, CEOF aims to invest in six to eight projects (15-100 MW each) in Argentina and Colombia, with a projected mobilization ratio of 10:1 for commercial capital. The fund's impact goals include avoiding 417,000 tCO2e annually and creating over 3,200 job-years over 25 years, with a specific gender strategy targeting 40% female representation in the workforce.

IREN Agri is a blended debt fund designed to support climate-smart agriculture in West Africa, starting with a cocoa-focused pilot in Côte d’Ivoire. The vehicle combines medium-term loans, multi-year offtake agreements, and digital technical assistance via the SUTTI platform to reduce investor risk and improve smallholder resilience. The fund aims to scale from a EUR 12.5 million pilot to a EUR 100 million fund by 2028, targeting a serviceable obtainable market of over EUR 500 million across six West African countries.

The Páramo Wildfire Resilience Facility is a proposed financial vehicle designed to protect Colombia's high-elevation páramo ecosystems from catastrophic wildfires. It utilizes a two-pronged approach: a parametric insurance policy to provide rapid liquidity for emergency fire suppression and an adaptation and recovery trust fund for long-term risk mitigation and ecosystem restoration. The facility targets ecosystem service beneficiaries, such as water utilities and corporations, to fund these activities, aiming to safeguard the drinking water supply for millions of people in the Bogotá metropolitan area.

The Price Risk Facility (PRF), developed by Agtuall, is an insurance mechanism that bundles price protection into agricultural loans to stabilize smallholder farmer incomes and reduce credit risk for lenders. While India has government schemes like PMFBY for production risks, price risk remains largely unaddressed. The PRF uses a grant-funded risk pool to catalyze insurer participation and aims to scale from current pilots to insuring USD 500 million annually within three years. The facility intends to transition from pure price insurance to comprehensive revenue insurance covering both yield and price risks.

The Seeded Initiative is a financial vehicle designed to address a critical bottleneck in Brazil's restoration value chain: the lack of capital for native seedling nurseries. To meet national targets of restoring 12 million hectares by 2030, Brazil needs approximately one billion seedlings annually, but currently produces only 200 million. The initiative employs a revolving debt structure using receivables-backed credit (via CPR-F, CRA, and FIDC instruments) and blended finance to provide working capital and CAPEX support to nurseries. The model transitions from high concessional support in its Proof-of-Concept phase to market-aligned returns in its commercial and scale-up phases. If scaled to one billion seedlings per year, the initiative could enable the restoration of 670,000 to 1 million hectares, removing an estimated 8.6 to 18.3 million tons of CO2e annually.

The Tropical Resilience Fund (TREF) is a USD 100 million closed-ended mezzanine debt fund designed to bridge the 'missing middle' financing gap for nature-based ventures in the tropical belt. Managed by Impact Earth, the fund employs a blended finance structure—combining a junior first-loss tranche with senior commercial capital—to invest in nature projects, productive systems, and market catalysts. TREF focuses on enhancing climate resilience across high-value commodities such as coffee, cacao, and rice, primarily in Latin America and Southeast Asia. The fund targets a net internal rate of return (IRR) of 10% and utilizes a three-stage resilience approach involving risk mapping, resilient operating plans, and post-investment verification.

The Clean Utilities for Affordable Housing instrument aims to raise USD 54 million (ZAR 976 million) to provide renewable energy as a service to affordable housing residents in South Africa. By partnering with major landlords to aggregate demand and using a catalytic subordinated funding vehicle to derisk investments, the model attracts commercial senior debt to fund solar installations. The first phase targets 28,000 housing units over five years, aiming to generate 1,352 GWh of renewable energy and avoid 1,369 ktCO2e. The instrument is designed to be financially sustainable, with a projected Fund internal rate of return (IRR) of 20-30% in the base case, and intends to expand into township retail and the Kenyan market.

The Growth Next-Generation Agriculture (GAN) is a proposed BRL 250 million (USD 44.4 million) blended finance debt fund designed to support the transition to regenerative agriculture in Brazil. By providing working capital to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that produce biological inputs (bio-inputs), GAN enables these SMEs to offer credit to farmers, reducing the sector's reliance on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. The instrument utilizes a Brazilian financial structure involving Fundo de Investimento em Direitos Creditórios (FIDC) investing in Agricultural Receivables Certificates (CRAs), supported by a proprietary AI credit assessment tool from Traive Finance. The fund includes a technical assistance facility managed by Folio Institute to train farmers and SMEs in regenerative practices. GAN targets environmental outcomes including the transition of 2 million hectares to regenerative practices and the annual avoidance of 2,312 tons of CO2e.

The InvestHER Climate Resilience Bond is Uganda's first gender-focused resilience bond, designed to raise USD 25 million in local currency to close the gender gap in the agrifood system. The instrument targets growth-stage agri-SMEs and local financial service providers (FSPs) to increase the adoption of climate-smart agriculture (CSA) among women farmers. It utilizes a dual-tranche structure (commercial and concessional) and a grant-funded technical assistance (TA) facility to address barriers such as high collateral requirements and lack of female-tailored financial products. The bond aims to reach approximately 3,825 agri-MSMEs, with nearly 100% being women-owned or led, and impact 470,000 hectares of farmland.

Regenera Ventures is a 10-year equity fund targeting the Mexican agricultural sector to build climate resilience through regenerative management. The fund utilizes redeemable equity and technical assistance to bridge financing gaps for SMEs and startups across the regenerative value chain, including direct production, added-value processes, market game-changers, and regenerative infrastructure. It aims to mobilize USD 20-26 million in private capital and plans to scale to other Latin American countries, such as Colombia, within 4 to 5 years.

The Resilient Municipal Market Fund (ReMark) is a proposed blended finance facility designed to address the lack of investment in African urban food markets, which are critical to food security but vulnerable to climate risks. The instrument combines a revolving debt facility for capital expenditure loans (USD 0.5-10 million) and a technical assistance (TA) facility managed by ICLEI Africa to prepare markets for investment. The pilot phase targets six municipalities in East and Southern Africa with a total budget of approximately USD 35 million, including USD 30 million in debt and repayable grants and USD 5 million in TA grants. ReMark categorizes markets into three types (A, B, and C) based on financial maturity, proposing different pathways to bankability, including a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) structure for the most challenged markets. Planned retrofits include cold storage, off-grid solar PV, and improved drainage to reduce food waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

The SPV for Silvopasture Scaling aims to transition medium-sized Colombian cattle farms from conventional to sustainable practices by providing capital and technical assistance. It utilizes a profit-sharing model based on productivity gains and the sale of carbon credits to avoid the debt-aversion barriers typical of traditional loans. The instrument is structured into three facilities: SPS Implementation, Carbon Credit, and Technical Assistance. A pilot in El Cesar will test the model before potential scaling to other regions of Colombia and countries like Brazil and Mexico.

The Structured Finance for Nature (SFN) instrument uses a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) in Singapore to aggregate a diversified portfolio of natural assets, combining equity, mezzanine finance, and green bonds. It aims to overcome barriers such as high upfront costs and small project sizes to protect and restore one million hectares of forest and wetlands. The pilot project in Agusan del Sur, Philippines, focuses on protecting 91,000 hectares of forest, with future expansions planned for Cambodia, Bhutan, and Indonesia. The model emphasizes high-integrity carbon credits, a 20% minimum benefit-sharing allocation for local and Indigenous communities, and real-time monitoring via a proprietary dashboard.

The Sustana Cooling India Fund is a USD 100 million blended capital equity fund designed to support early-growth companies in India's cooling sector. By utilizing a first-loss cushion and combining senior and subordinated equity, the fund aims to de-risk investments in energy-efficient space cooling and cold supply chains. The instrument targets the 'missing middle' of funding (pre-Series A/B stages) to drive both climate mitigation and adaptation, with a projected return of 18.04% in USD terms for limited partners.

The Amazon Food&Forest Bioeconomy Financing Initiative addresses financial barriers facing Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) in the Brazilian Amazon through a proprietary fintech platform and a blended finance structure. The initiative combines private debentures (senior and subordinated tranches) with a philanthropic fund to provide growth capital and discounted invoices to regenerative businesses. Currently in a pilot phase with 17 projects and USD 2.7 million deployed, the initiative aims to raise USD 23.12 million in its market phase to scale activities across value chains such as non-timber forest products (NTFPs), community-based tourism, and agroforestry. The goal is to mitigate land-use emissions, protect biodiversity, and improve local livelihoods while attracting commercial private capital to the region's socio-bioeconomy.

The Landbanking Group (TLG) is introducing Nature Equity Assets (NEAs), a new asset class that uses real-time Measuring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) technology to value the ecological uplift of High Integrity Forests (HIFs) and regenerative agriculture. The instrument employs a blended finance approach, providing discounted loans to land stewards—primarily Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs)—who repay the capital through commodity sales and outcome-based payments from corporate or government funders. Initial pilot projects are targeting the soy and cacao value chains in Brazil, with future expansions planned for Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Quantitative modeling suggests that regenerative agriculture is more profitable for land stewards than conventional methods, though standalone conservation projects currently require concessional grants to be viable.

The Catalyst Climate Resilience Fund (CCRF) is a blended finance vehicle designed to support pre-seed climate adaptation startups in Africa. It provides an initial USD 200,000 investment per company, split between cash and venture-building support from BFA Global. The fund targets a total size of USD 40 million, utilizing a tiered capital structure with first-loss protection to attract commercial investors. Its investment thesis focuses on three verticals: fintech for resilience, sustainable livelihoods, and climate-smart essential services. The fund has already completed its first close of approximately USD 8.5 million in August 2023 and has made 10 initial pre-seed investments across several African nations.