Climate change is expected to disproportionately affect populations already living in poverty and push as many as 132 million people into poverty by 2030. The estimated adaptation costs for developing economies are expected to be nearly $300 billion annually by 2030 and $500 billion by 2050.
WE4F and DFC are seeking to unlock high-quality private investment for Adaptation Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to equip vulnerable communities, with priority to low and lower-middle income countries, with the tools and capabilities to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Through this Request for Request for Information (RFI), WE4F aims to investigate the interest of potential investors and financing partners that would want to participate in the WE4F-DFC guarantee fund that is likely to be launched soon. Specifically, we are interested in the following:
- Catalytic capital from funds, investment vehicles, individuals and/or products capable of mobilizing finance to advance WE4F development objectives in grant or any form of relevant instrument, including but not limited to, direct loans, loan guarantees, possibly equity, and technical assistance to WE4F SMEs; and
- Support from fund managers, those who intend to pool in investors with an aim to participate in investment rounds for the WE4F guarantee fund and additionally, may choose to provide direct support to enterprises, enabling WE4F partnerships to facilitate greater access to finance.
Illustrative activities include but are not limited to:
- Contributing to the WE4F Guarantee fund with monetary contribution that will be used to invest in WE4F SMEs as first-loss tranches, guarantees, debt, equity, in order to lower risks and catalyze commercial capital for our SMEs.
- Collaborating to access funds/partnerships towards end-user financing efforts
- Enhancing efforts to access and provide focused climate and gender lens investment for WE4F SMEs
Please click the following link for more information on how DFC’s guarantee
mechanism’s work, in general.
