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The Climate Finance Accelerator (CFA) supports low-carbon entrepreneurs to get their businesses and projects ready for investment. It then connects them with the investors who can help them grow.
Funded by the UK Government, the CFA provides hands-on technical support and creates structured opportunities for entrepreneurs, developers, financiers, and public partners to work together to unlock climate finance where it is most needed.
Pakistan’s climate landscape is defined by high vulnerability and low emissions - contributing less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet ranks the most-climate affected countries globally. Rising temperatures have intensified heatwaves, accelerated glacial melt, while increasingly erratic monsoons have led to devastating floods - most notably the 2022 floods which affected 33 million people and caused around USD 40 billion in losses. In recent years, Pakistan's climate investment landscape is expanding in response to these escalating climate risks.
These factors are driving demand for solutions across resilient infrastructure, water security, renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture. While innovation and project origination are increasing, climate investments remain constrained by weak project bankability, fragmented regulatory and institutional frameworks, as well as heightened macroeconomic risks. As a result, investor interest, particularly from Development Finance Institutions and impact investors, has yet to translate into sufficient capital deployment at scale.
CFA Pakistan responds to these constraints by strengthening project design and financial structuring, de-risking early-stage investments, and linking high-potential projects with appropriate sources of concessional and commercial finance to build a durable pipeline of investable climate solutions.
The CFA works with businesses and projects that are actively seeking finance and can meet the following criteria:
Measurable climate impact: Designed to achieve measurable climate outcomes in terms of direct or facilitated greenhouse gas emission reductions.
Minimum ticket size: Have a minimum total financing need of at least USD 4 million, with flexibility where sector dynamics, growth stage, or capital-structure needs justify a smaller raise.
Stage of development: Project finance deals must have completed a full feasibility study (a technical and financial assessment confirming engineering design, costs, risks, and viability).
Commercial model: Have a business model capable of generating attractive, risk-adjusted returns over time, although some element of blended or concessional capital may be required in early stages.
Sectoral focus: Provide a solution within priority sectors: agriculture, forestry and other land use (AFOLU), buildings & construction, energy, industry and manufacturing, transport (including mobility and logistics), waste & circular economy, blue economy and water and wastewater.
Responsible business conduct: Not engage in activities included in the CFA exclusion list (available as PDF by clicking ‘Apply to Join CFA’)
Positive environmental and social outcomes: Propositions should either demonstrate positive environmental and social impacts or show a genuine commitment to meaningfully integrating gender equality, disability, and broader social inclusion, recognising that some applicants may still be developing these elements.