The Catalytic Climate Finance Facility (CC Facility), a collaboration between Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and Convergence, has selected five innovative blended finance vehicles as part of its second cohort. With a combined grant of $2 million, these projects aim to address urgent climate challenges in regions such as Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean by mobilising private sector investments and pioneering innovative climate finance mechanisms.
The selected vehicles focus on critical sectors including climate-resilient agriculture, marine conservation, biodiversity protection, renewable energy, and climate adaptation. Each initiative employs diverse financial structures, such as debt facilities, venture capital, and project finance platforms, to mitigate investment risks and unlock capital flows in high-risk markets.
The ADAPTA Climate Finance Facility (ACF) is a $50 million debt fund designed to transform agricultural finance in Sub-Saharan Africa. Using proprietary climate risk assessment technology, ACF seeks to de-risk lending to smallholder farmers, promote regenerative agricultural practices, and enhance food security and climate resilience, starting in Kenya. The Biodiversity Bridge Vehicle (BBV), a $100 million project finance platform, combines carbon and biodiversity credits to fund mixed-species afforestation projects, tackling ecosystem degradation while driving climate mitigation efforts.
The Blue Alliance Blended Finance Vehicle, a $65 million facility, supports marine conservation efforts by enhancing the operations of 2 million hectares of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) across Sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. It funds sustainable initiatives in aquaculture, ecotourism, blue carbon projects, and fisheries, generating income for local communities and alleviating poverty while strengthening biodiversity protection.
Additional projects include the Catalyst Fund Resilience I, a $40 million venture capital fund investing in pre-seed climate adaptation startups in Africa. The fund focuses on innovations in fintech for climate resilience, sustainable livelihoods, and climate-smart essential services. The P-REC Aggregation Facility (PAF), an $11 million pilot project finance facility, supports solar and hydro mini-grid projects in fragile African nations. By aggregating and selling Peace Renewable Energy Certificates (P-RECs), PAF facilitates renewable energy development in climate-vulnerable regions while offering high social and environmental impact.
The five vehicles were selected from a pool of 243 submissions through a rigorous evaluation process. Beyond financial grants, the CC Facility will provide tailored technical assistance over 12 to 18 months to accelerate the implementation of these climate solutions. Supported by anchor donors such as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Affairs Canada, and Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the CC Facility addresses a critical gap in climate finance by guiding projects through the “valley of death” — the challenging phase between pilot development and market scalability. Applications for the next cohort will open on March 10, 2025.
“The CC Facility portfolio of financial vehicles, spanning climate-resilient agriculture, marine conservation, and renewable energy, is a testament to our commitment to steer the field of blended finance toward solving climate and development goals,” said Joan Larrea, CEO of Convergence. “The CC Facility is a systemic approach to catalysing private sector investment in a sustainable future. We are proud to be at the forefront of the global climate finance movement.”
“Canada congratulates the five grantees and looks forward to the launch of these blended finance vehicles that will support solar and hydro projects in fragile African states, as well as biodiversity, food security, and smallholder farmer livelihoods across Africa and Southeast Asia,” said Cam Do, Director General of Development Finance at Global Affairs Canada. “This selection demonstrates the catalytic potential of the private sector to deliver meaningful climate results.”
Barbara Buchner, CPI’s Global Managing Director, emphasised the urgency of mobilising climate finance. “The new CC Facility class is a direct response to the urgency for climate action. The need to mobilise trillions of dollars annually, particularly in high-risk emerging markets, is paramount. By focusing on critical areas like unlocking private capital, de-risking investments, and scaling climate finance, we are aligning our efforts with the global community’s ambition. The CC Facility is poised to address this challenge head-on.”
Since its inception, the CC Facility has raised USD 13 million and aims to expand to USD 100 million in the coming years. Applications for the next cohort will open on March 10, 2025, continuing the mission to accelerate climate finance and foster sustainable development worldwide.
