Climate Finance Accelerator Programme
Challenge
The Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) is a technical assistance programme funded by the UK Government’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) as part of its efforts to help emerging markets deliver their climate commitments under the Paris Agreement.
Emerging market countries face common challenges in accessing funding at scale. Early-stage proposals often struggle to connect with specialist capital market practitioners who can link them to investor communities. Simultaneously, local policy landscapes, including regulatory regimes, can be unsupportive of entrepreneurship, leaving projects bogged down by bureaucracy and lacking the necessary guidance and support.
Following a successful pilot programme in 2017, Ricardo has been helping to deliver a four-year CFA programme (2020–2024), providing specialist assistance to ten participating countries: Colombia, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, Türkiye, Peru, Egypt, Pakistan, Vietnam, and Uganda.
The programme is being delivered with in-country local partners as part of an alliance led by PwC.
Approach
As the ‘country lead,’ Ricardo has played a pivotal role in bringing national, provincial and municipal policymakers together with project developers, facilitating connections with expert mentors from international finance and banking. This collaboration helps participants gain advice, capture synergies and share lessons learned.
Using workshops, technical forums, and one-to-one consultations, Ricardo’s experts have supported participants to:
• Identify low-carbon projects that align with nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
• Engage with private financiers to prioritize financing propositions.
• Develop the commercial structure of projects to the stage where they can secure primary finance in local capital markets.
For projects of significant scale in relevant sectors (such as renewable energy, transport, and buildings), participants can explore options like refinancing projects into green bonds and similar instruments that are attractive to global capital markets.
This experience has been recognized as a leading example by British Expertise and is featured in their publication: Accelerating Climate Finance: A View from UK-Based Specialist Providers (external link).
The programme also involved working on gender equality and social inclusion (GESI), helping project developers and investors integrate GESI considerations into their proposals and decision-making. See more:
• GESI Guidance for Investors (external link).
• GESI Benefits for Project Developers (external link).
Ricardo’s team also includes specialists who provide tailored support around NDC implementation and financing for energy and transport projects.
Outcomes
The CFA programme is designed to develop investable low-carbon project pipelines by addressing the initial stages of the climate finance investment chain.
This collaborative, capacity-building approach helps develop domestic expertise to ensure a steady flow of projects while nurturing a governance and policy environment conducive to innovation and new initiatives.
Between 2020 and 2024, the CFA programme has supported 238 projects across ten countries, unlocking $410 million in investments. Ricardo’s contributions have been instrumental in helping project developers refine their proposals, align them with investor requirements, and achieve financing for impactful, low-carbon initiatives.
See the impact of the CFA in this short video summary and the CFA Impact Report Summary (external links).
Learn more about what the CFA offers to projects here (external link).