The Hague, 1 December 2023: Climate Fund Managers (CFM), a leading climate-centric blended finance fund manager has announced the third close of its Climate Investor Two Fund (CI2) with an additional USD 20 million of commitments, bringing the total fund size to USD 875 million. CI2 is a blended finance facility focused on water, sanitation and oceans infrastructure in emerging markets.
The Fund’s third-close investor is a private family based in the United States, represented by global investment firm Cambridge Associates. The USD 20 million capital commitment to CI2’s Construction Equity Fund marks the largest commitment from a single-family office as well as the first from a US-based family office.
CI2 was formed in partnership with Dutch Fund for Climate and Development (DFCD) and the European Commission to mobilize private sector investment at scale in water, waste management and oceans infrastructure in CFM’s focus markets of Latin America, Africa and Asia. Established in 2019, the fund reached its second close at USD 855 million in December 2022 and is targeting a final close of USD 1 billion by March 2024.
CI2’s blended finance structure includes a concessional capital Development Fund to absorb risk and provide early-stage project development services and a tranched Construction Equity Fund to mobilize private investment into asset construction. CFM’s blended facilities offer an innovative “whole-of-life” solution by providing a single financing source for each of the respective development, construction and operational phases of a project’s lifecycle.
CI2 is supported by multiple public and private sector organizations, including development finance institutions, multilateral finance institutions, public sector banks and commercial investors from across the globe. To date, the Fund has committed c. USD 205 million to 13 projects including waste-to-energy platforms in South Africa and Thailand, desalination initiatives in Kenya and Thailand and pan-Africa and Intra-Asia green shipping companies. It has also implemented the world’s largest debt-for-nature conversion in Ecuador to protect one of the planet’s most important ecosystems: the Galapagos Islands.
Andrew Johnstone, CEO of CFM said: “Water, sanitation, and oceans infrastructure play pivotal roles in human health, economic development and climate resilience. The latest commitments to Climate Investor Two are further proof of the unique ability of blended finance to catalyze private capital in these vital sectors. By accommodating diverse risk appetites within a single structure, blended facilities break down investment barriers, enabling the private sector to engage in previously inaccessible high-impact opportunities. The commitment from the private family advised by Cambridge Associates positions us to attract additional private sector capital to deliver climate action quickly, effectively and at scale.”
CI2 follows CFM’s inaugural fund Climate Investor One, a c. 1 billion USD blended finance facility focused on renewable energy in emerging markets. CFM has a team of over 100 development, investment, technical and ESG experts across Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.
