Glasgow, 3 November 2021 – Today at COP 26, Convergence, the global network for blended finance, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia (DFAT) announced that they are supporting the development of four new blended finance solutions that will mobilize around $300 million for renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and sustainable forestry across Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
Convergence’s recently released State of Blended Finance 2021 report found that about 50% of all blended finance transactions closed to date target Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are related to climate change (e.g. Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy; Goal 11: Sustainable Cities; or Goal 13: Climate action). Scaling the blended finance market will be especially critical for climate action. This funding from Convergence and DFAT will come at a critical time in a transaction’s life cycle, providing support early on, in the design stage, to teams that are looking to take investment products to market.
“We are thrilled to be announcing such a strong cohort of grantees at COP 26,” says Joan Larrea, CEO at Convergence. “On top of offering thoughtful blended finance solutions to address gaps in climate finance, the majority of these solutions also address gender equality. Women and girls are disproportionately impacted by the negative effects of climate change and need to be part of the solution, so recognizing and acting on that fact will be key to catalyzing real change.”
This funding is awarded through the Indo-Pacific Design Funding Window, supported by the Australian Government, which is focused on catalytic blended finance solutions targeting climate finance and/or gender equality in the Indo-Pacific region.
Grantees and funded solutions
Beyond Finance will develop the Beyond Finance Asia Pacific Facility to finance companies that develop products and services for women consumers and companies led or founded by women in Asia and the Pacific. The facility aims at being transformative by linking gender key performance indicators and financial incentives. To support climate resilience, a significant portion of the portfolio will focus on companies that address the needs of new frontier markets in the Water Energy Food nexus by offering climate smart solutions.
“Supporting companies in Asia and the Pacific to unlock the value of gender lens is a critical challenge with positive implications for gender equality and climate resilience.” says Maud Savary- Mornet, founder of Beyond Finance.
“After 15 years spent in Impact Investing in emerging countries, we’ve noticed that although financial inclusion developed tremendously in emerging markets, women’s access to basic dedicated products and services was still lagging behind,” says Camille Huret, co-founder of Beyond Finance.
Village Infrastructure Angels will develop a $30 million Micro Infrastructure Investment Fund for Asia-Pacific (MIIFAP), which will lease micro-infrastructure products (e.g., home solar systems, solar mills, solar pumps, and cooking systems) to low-income, deeply rural off-grid communities in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Nations. The fund specifically aims to improve the lives of women end-users by reducing the domestic workload.
"Over $5 million has been mobilized already, which we hope to grow to a $30 million fund. VIA is deeply grateful to Convergence and its funders in supporting this goal, which if successful, could lead to 100% access to modern energy in key focus geographies, fulfilling SDG 7 (affordable & clean energy) before the target deadline of 2030, generating millions in new income for households and saving millions of hours manual labour, particularly for women,” says Stewart Craine, Managing Director at VIA.
Camco Clean Energy (Camco) will design the Transforming Island Development through Electrification and Sustainability (TIDES), a $50 million structured debt and equity fund to partner with local developers in the Pacific and finance a portfolio of multiple renewable energy projects by each developer. The fund requires investees to target gender-focused metrics, such as number of jobs created for women, percentage of women in senior positions and percentage of female-owned businesses supported.
“Camco is looking forward to applying our experience and expertise in financing sustainable development to help solve the Pacific islands' many energy challenges, including the high cost of electricity and reliance on imported fossil fuels,” says Geoff Sinclair, Managing Director at Camco. “This funding will be instrumental in helping Camco launch TIDES and establish an on-the-ground presence in the Pacific, which will enable us to work closely with local developers and provide the necessary flexible financing to build the region's clean energy sector and unlock its economic potential.”
ADM Capital Group will build and launch the Asia Climate-Smart Landscape Fund (ACLF), a $200 million fund providing medium to long-term (5 years or longer), small ticket size ($5-20 million), senior secured loans to small and medium enterprises engaged in sustainable agriculture, land regeneration, and forest protection in Indonesia.
“With the support from Convergence, ADM Capital will further develop gender and other impact expertise for transactions in the Asia Climate Smart Landscape Fund,” said Chris Botsford, ADM Capital co-founder and CEO. “We hope that ACLF can help establish a new approach to transactions in land use and agricultural commodities with the result being meaningful impact on both.”
About Convergence’s Design Funding Program
Convergence’s Design Funding Program operates as a market acceleration tool providing early-stage capital to support blended finance solutions in frontier markets and nascent sectors to accelerate the number of investible transactions in market targeting SDGs. Convergence currently has two open Design Funding Windows, the Indo-Pacific Window for solutions targeting gender AND/OR climate in the Indo-Pacific Region, and the Asia Natural Capital Window for solutions focused on natural capital in Asia. To date, Convergence has awarded nearly $7 million in funding, which has gone on to mobilize over $800 million of additional capital. Please visit Convergence’s Design Funding page for submission deadlines and eligibility criteria.
About Convergence
Convergence is the global network for blended finance. On top of market acceleration through its Design Funding program, Convergence generates blended finance data, intelligence, and deal flow to increase private sector investment in developing countries. Convergence’s global membership includes over 200 public, private, and philanthropic investors as well as sponsors of transactions and funds.
About Beyond Finance Consulting Ltd
Beyond Finance Consulting Ltd is a consulting firm based in Hong Kong founded by Maud Savary-Mornet. Ms. Savary-Mornet has 25+ years of experience in investment in emerging Asia across regulation, management, and fundraising. As Founder and CEO of Beyond Finance, she will lead fundraising efforts and the impact and gender-lens work of the Facility. Camille Huret has 15 years of experience in impact investing, having structured and/or sourced private debt investment across the globe in sectors such as Financial Inclusion, Sustainable Agriculture and WaSH. As co-founder of the Beyond Finance Asia Pacific Facility, she will lead the origination and support the fundraising effort of the Facility. Aurélie Madé, as co-founder and pro-bono strategic senior business adviser, will support the development and implementation of the structure. She brings expertise in blended finance and portfolio management and 15 years of experience in financial markets.
About Village Infrastructure Angels (VIA)
VIA is a UK-based for-profit company that invests in poverty-alleviating infrastructure. To date, VIA has reached over 10,000 households with micro-infrastructure solutions across Vanuatu, Indonesia, and Honduras. VIA operates in partnership with Vanuatu Rural Services Cooperative (VRSC) in Vanuatu, Sumba Sustainable Solutions (SSS) in Indonesia, and with Yu Lapta Karnika in Honduras.
About Camco Clean Energy
Camco Clean Energy is a specialist fund manager focused on renewable energy, climate finance and impact in emerging markets. We offer elegant and practical financing solutions to lead the clean energy transition, pairing the conscience of a development bank with the agility of a small private company. Camco is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority and is an Accredited Entity of the Green Climate Fund. The company has offices in Australia, Canada, Finland, Ghana, Kenya, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and United Kingdom.
About ADM Capital Group
Headquartered in Hong Kong, the ADM Capital Group has 23-years of private credit experience in Asia-Pacific with ESG integration, an environmental foundation, as well as a London-based agriculture-focused private equity fund, Cibus. ADM Capital has experience across the credit spectrum, with demonstrated origination and exit capabilities across the Asia-Pacific region, $4.2 billion Invested across 165 Transactions in 14 Countries. ADM Capital is also a partner with BNP Paribas, UN Environment and the World Agroforestry Centre in the Tropical Landscapes Finance Facility for Indonesia.
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