Project profile — Gender-Responsive Climate Finance Design Funding Window

• North of Sahara, regional (5.00%)
• South of Sahara, regional (50.00%)
• West Indies, regional (5.00%)
• North and Central America, regional (5.00%)
• South America, regional (10.00%)
• Asia, regional (20.00%)
• Oceania, regional (5.00%)

• Government And Civil Society, General: Women's rights organisations and movements, and government institutions (15170) (15.00%)
• Energy conservation and demand-side efficiency:
Energy conservation and demand-side efficiency (23183) (10.00%)
Energy generation, renewable sources - multiple technologies (23210) (10.00%)
• Banking And Financial Services: Financial policy and administrative management (24010) (10.00%)
• Business And Other Services: Responsible Business Conduct (25040) (15.00%)
• Agriculture: Agricultural development (31120) (15.00%)
• Forestry: Forestry development (31220) (10.00%)
• Other Multisector: Multisector aid (43010) (15.00%)

• Gender equality (principal objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (principal objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (principal objective)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (not targeted)
• Youth Issues (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)
• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (principal objective)
• Nutrition (not targeted)

This project aims to increase capital mobilization for the Sustainable Development Goals, and build a pipeline of gender-responsive climate finance solutions. As part of Canada’s $2.65 billion climate finance commitment, Global Affairs Canada partnered with Convergence Blended Finance Inc. to provide design-stage funding to practitioners developing blended finance solutions focused on climate change and gender equality. This project supports one of the following two types of funding: 1) a feasibility study, to explore the feasibility of the blended finance vehicle, including assessing bankability, conducting market scoping and determining the structure; and 2) a proof-of-concept study, to complete all design and structuring activities to launch the blended finance vehicle. Convergence synthesizes and disseminates lessons learned on designing gender-responsive climate finance solutions with the wider development community.

The expected outcome for this project is the enhanced development of gender-responsive climate finance solutions by practitioners involved in climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Results achieved as of March 2023 include: (1) launched two funding calls for applications for the design of gender-responsive climate blended finance for climate change mitigation and adaptation; (2) awarded a design funding grant to the Gigaton Empowerment Fund by Mirova SunFunder Inc. This climate mitigation fund aims to apply a gender lens across investments in the clean energy sector in emerging markets; (3) awarded a design funding grant to Beyond Finance Asia Pacific Facility by Beyond Finance Consulting Limited. This fund supports climate mitigation and adaptation initiatives that invest in companies providing products or services that empower women. It also supports similar initiatives led by women in Asia-Pacific and Africa in Sustainable Agriculture, Water and Sanitation, and Clean Energy; (4) awarded a design funding grant to the Climate Resilience Collective by Haqdarshak Empowerment Solutions Private Limited. This fund supports a climate mitigation and adaptation initiative in Sustainable Agriculture in South Asia. As well it supports women’s empowerment by training local women to become field agents, thus offering them a source of livelihood; and (5) received the participation of over 260 people in virtual project events and webinars, that included Design Funding 101 and Webinar on Insights for Applicants.

• Proactive disclosure