- The EIB is set to back $300 million of climate action investment by an Indian fund manager through the new GEF South Asia Growth Fund III.
- This new investment follows the success of the $200 million in business financing provided by predecessor GEF South Asia Growth Fund II.
- GEF South Asia Growth Fund III focuses on the clean energy supply chain, energy efficiency technologies and services, the efficient use of water resources and environmental products and services.
- The GEF South Asia Growth Fund III is expected to have a significant impact on gender equality by accelerating female entrepreneurship in climate finance in India.
Meeting in Mumbai, European Investment Bank (EIB) Vice-President Kris Peeters and founder of global sustainability private equity firm GEF Capital Partners Raj Paj formally announced a $40 million commitment to the new GEF South Asia Growth Fund III. The new growth equity fund will accelerate business investment to address climate action and environmental sustainability across India and southeast Asia.
EIB Vice-President Kris Peeters said: “The EIB, the EU climate bank, confirms its support to India in delivering its commitments under the Paris Climate Agreement, creating a partnership on climate action that benefits India, the European Union and the entire world. As part of this commitment, the EIB is helping to catalyse over $500 million of growth capital investing into climate companies in India through our current and past partnerships with GEF Capital. This new operation is also expected to have a significant impact on gender equality in climate finance in India. The EIB is committed to supporting further investment in gender-smart climate finance, in India and elsewhere.”
With a target size of $300 million, the fund targets investments in India, with up to 10% in other countries in the south and southeast Asia regions. The fund focuses on environmental and social impact and promotes the achievement of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), with a particular focus on limiting climate change (SDG 13). The EIB invested over $25 million in its predecessor climate fund — the GEF South Asia Growth Fund II (2019) — that helped to catalyse and deploy $200 million.
Background information
About the EIB:
The EIB brings the experience and expertise of our in-house engineers and economists to help develop and appraise top quality projects. As an AAA-rated, policy-driven EU financial institution, the EIB offers attractive financial terms — competitive interest rates with loan durations aligned with the projects. Through our partnerships with the EU and other donors, we can often provide grants to further improve the development impact of the projects we support.
EIB Global is the EIB Group’s specialised arm dedicated to increasing the impact of international partnerships and development finance. EIB Global is designed to foster strong, focused partnership within Team Europe, alongside fellow development finance institutions, and civil society. EIB Global brings the Group closer to local people, companies and institutions through our offices across the world.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/eib-global/
About the EIB in India:
Since the beginning of its operations in India in 1993, the EIB has supported 26 projects in the country and invested close to €5 billion in transport, energy, agriculture, fisheries and forestry projects as well as India’s small and medium enterprises.
About the EIB in Asia:
For 25 years, the EIB has supported economic development in Asia and the Pacific region. The projects we finance make people’s lives easier — from cutting travel times in Bangalore with a new metro line, to providing cheaper, cleaner energy to western Nepal.
In Asia, we have chosen to focus our lending on climate action across all sectors. We also work to include gender equality in our projects, ensuring that women, men, girls and boys can benefit from projects equally and equitably.
About GEF Capital Partners:
GEF Capital Partners is a global private equity firm formed in March 2018 following a collaborative spinout from Global Environment Fund, an early pioneer in global sustainability and environmental investing. Today, GEF seeks to build on the legacy established by Global Environment Fund by focusing on investments that promote resource efficiency and contribute to building a more sustainable future.