The BlackRock managed Climate Finance Partnership (CFP) fund has reached first close by securing $250 million in financing. The design and coordination was supported by our grantee Aligned Climate Capital (ACC). The CFP is an unprecedented blended finance partnership between the world’s largest asset manager - BlackRock - and leading philanthropies and governments.

Convergence awarded ACC a Design Funding grant in 2019 to support the coordination and design of the CFP. The partnership has jointly committed to develop a flagship blended private infrastructure equity fund for climate infrastructure projects and companies in emerging markets. The fund aims to be one of the biggest blended vehicles to-date targeting climate-related investments in developing countries. It will seek to make investments in sectors such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy storage in Latin America, Asia, and Africa.

“More large-scale investment vehicles of this type are needed to aim institutional money at the Sustainable Development Goals,” says Joan Larrea, CEO of Convergence. “BlackRock’s role in this partnership is a signal that Wall Street is catching on to blended finance as a structuring tool for entering challenging sectors and emerging markets. With this successful first close, we hope to see more heavyweights join them.”

Government and philanthropic partners include the Governments of France and Germany, James and Kathryn Murdoch's Quadrivium Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Jeremy and Hannelore Grantham Environmental Trust, and the IKEA Foundation.

The fund has a target of closing at $500 million by summer 2022.