There is not enough public climate finance to support countries’ transitions to net-zero economies, and funding from the private sector must make up this shortfall. One avenue to channel this finance where it’s needed most is through locally led small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that are focused on building resilience to climate impacts in low- and middle-income countries. However, these SMEs often have a hard time accessing intermediate finance to grow their businesses because they don’t always meet global standards for investment readiness, investors often have large ticket sizes that SMEs cannot absorb, and the markets they operate in are considered higher risk.

P4G contributes to inclusive net-zero transitions in low- and middle-income countries by helping climate businesses become investment ready. It focused on locally led solutions in climate-smart agriculture, food loss and waste, water resilience, zero-emission mobility and renewable energy.

P4G provides grant funding to partnerships comprising at least one early-stage business and one NGO partner. These grants, typically averaging about $350,000, are designed to help businesses become investment ready through funding and technical assistance, such as due diligence, business matchmaking and introductions to intermediate investment facilities. The initiative accelerates partnerships in Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kenya, South Africa and Vietnam. It is hosted by World Resources Institute and funded by Denmark, the Netherlands and the Republic of Korea.

P4G has multistakeholder National Platforms in all its partner countries that include representatives from the country’s government and private sector as well as P4G donor embassies. These have been established to support P4G partnerships and facilitate improvements to policy or regulatory frameworks that impact the business solution. National Platforms participate in policy workshops and make connections with local authorities who can support the relevant policy or regulatory improvement.

The initiative’s learning-based approach and knowledge mobilization strategy enable P4G to share lessons learned on partnerships, National Platforms and its overall approach. Through communications, sectoral knowledge products and events, P4G shares learnings with public and private stakeholders who can help accelerate partnerships and so others can replicate the success of its early-stage businesses and approach.  

Image by David Dodge at GreenEnergyFutures/Flickr