With the goal of attracting private money to sustainable development at scale, Convergence is providing practitioners with a unique chance to accelerate the market by securing design funds for the creation and launch of catalytic blended finance vehicles.

With assistance from the Canadian government, the Gender-Responsive Climate Finance Window will provide early-stage grant funding for the creation and introduction of cutting-edge blended finance vehicles that address the convergence of gender equality and climate change in developing nations across the world.

Over the past ten years, there has been an increase in understanding of the gender-climate connection, although the field is still in its infancy. By enabling a pipeline of climate-gender blended finance vehicles to gain bankability, this Window seeks to advance the sector. Three main goals will serve as the foundation for blended finance vehicles backed by the Window:

the large-scale mobilisation of private sector funds to support adaptation and/or mitigation of gender-responsive climate change in emerging economies;
the inclusion of gender equality as a fundamental component of vehicle design, development, and operation as opposed to a "bolt-on feature" or "nice-to-have";
A strong alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 13 (Climate Action), 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), and 5 (Gender Equality).

Types of Funding Available

Funding for feasibility studies and proof-of-concept applications is available to applicants; awards range from USD 40,000 to USD 191,000. These funds address things like vehicle structure design, gender analysis, market scoping, and transaction assessment. Research projects that are successful could be given further funding.

Funding for projects aimed at proving the concept varies from USD 190,000 to USD 500,000. Funding is given for designing and structuring tasks, such as completing the capital structure, financial model, marketing, partner selection, legal framework, fundraising, and gender action plan, when a feasibility study is finished.

Which solutions fall under this window's eligibility?
In order to fund climate change adaptation or mitigation in emerging economies, solutions must combine a strong gender equality focus and mobilise private capital at scale.
Solutions might, for example, focus on the following industries where gender- and climate-integrated finance transactions are becoming more prevalent:

mitigation of climate change
Transportation with less carbon
Production of renewable energy, both off and on grid
energy effectiveness
Land usage, forestry, and agriculture
technology for clean cooking
Management of natural resources

Distribution, storage, and transmission of energy
Adaptation to climate change
Climate-smart aquaculture or agriculture
Climate-related insurance and resilience to disasters
Infrastructure rooted in nature
Ecosystem-based Modification
Management of waste and wastewater

Don't miss out on the application deadline which is 30th August 2024.

Scroll down for more details and click on the official link attached to apply now.