The Climate and Finance Innovations (ClimaFii, rhymes with fly) Alliance formed by Shell Foundation, Accion, BFA Global, and Upaya Social Ventures seeks to provide catalytic support to climate enterprises (startups and SMEs) in sub-Saharan Africa and India, respectively, to accelerate climate-smart technologies specifically designed to benefit microentrepreneurs.
These technologies will be determined by local needs and include solar-powered processing solutions for smallholder farmers, electric vehicles and cooling systems for delivery drivers, clean cooking solutions for restaurant owners, and recycling tools for garment manufacturers (only in India). In tandem, Accion will partner with financial service providers to design credit products that enable microentrepreneurs to access these climate solutions through affordable financing and for clean energy enterprises to invest in growth.
Unlike most acceleration initiatives, this 5-year program follows an innovative, multi-pronged approach to make climate technologies more accessible to microentrepreneurs and increase access to capital for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to foster inclusive clean energy solutions and deploy early-stage capital more efficiently. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), we do this through 1) grant support and venture building for climate enterprises 2) credit pilots in partnership with Accion and 3) facilitate follow-on funding for the selected enterprises.
Microentrepreneurs are vital to local economies but struggle to grow due to limited access to markets, appropriate technology, and financing. ClimaFii aims to address critical challenges faced by microentrepreneurs (MEs) in accessing affordable and appropriate clean energy solutions in India and Africa. MEs are dependent on inefficient, high-cost energy sources, limiting productivity and income potential. With the Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) sector poised for growth, there is a significant opportunity to transform how microenterprises operate by introducing affordable and clean energy solutions to adapt to climate change and protect livelihoods.
- Grants: Milestone-based cash grants of USD $45,000 for selected startups/ SME
- Venture building: In-kind support valued at $40k focused on go-to market strategies and partnerships
- Credit: Partnerships with FSP facilitated by Accion to increase access to credit
- Follow-on Funding: Through our investment readiness support, we help enterprises raise follow-on capital through our investment committee and our investor network, including over 100 leading institutional investors. Follow-on funding could include grants from other funders, as well as equity and debt financing. Our program aims for at least 6 of the selected enterprises to successfully raise follow-on funding after the first year of this program.
