The Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance (the Lab) has announced the launch of its Pre-Seed Capital Facility, designed to address funding gaps for early-stage climate finance instruments. This new facility will provide conditional grants to Lab-endorsed projects, accelerating the implementation and scalability of innovative climate solutions.
The Lab, which has been developing market-ready climate finance mechanisms since 2014 along with Climate Policy Initiative, has successfully mobilised private capital for climate action through 78 blended finance instruments. However, one of the key challenges has been the extended time required to bring high-impact solutions to market, often due to limited access to early-stage funding.
The Pre-Seed Capital Facility aims to close this funding gap by offering grants of USD 150,000 to 250,000, conditional upon meeting specific milestones. The grants will ensure that selected projects move from design to implementation more efficiently, helping to develop prototypes and pilot programs.
“The Lab’s Pre-Seed Capital Facility will allow us to take a more active role in filling critical capital needs for endorsed instruments and accelerating their path to becoming investable. The funding will help develop prototypes and pilots while addressing the lack of available capital during the critical incubation stage,” said Ben Broché, Associate Director of the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), who leads the Lab’s efforts.
Applications for the Lab’s 2025 Call for Ideas are now open, with a deadline of November 7. Selected projects will receive access to the Pre-Seed Capital Facility, along with comprehensive support, including technical assistance, expert guidance, and pilot implementation support. The Lab is particularly focused on solutions related to adaptation, mitigation, and sustainable food and agriculture systems in emerging markets such as Brazil, Southern and East Africa, India, the Philippines, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
This initiative marks an important step in overcoming early-stage funding barriers in climate finance, enabling innovative projects to move more quickly from concept to implementation and scale effectively to address global climate challenges.
