- Opens New Office in Makati City for Solar Platform CN Green Roof Asia
- Makes Inaugural Investment in Clean Water Platform Tubig Pilipinas
The Hague, 12 Sept 2024: Climate Fund Managers (CFM), a climate-centric blended finance investment manager, has announced its strategic entry into the Philippines. The milestone was marked by the opening of a new office for CFM’s commercial and industrial solar platform, CN Green Roof Asia (“CNGRA”) in Makati City on Friday.
At the event, which was attended by senior management of CFM and its partners— including representatives from the European Union Delegation, the Dutch Embassy, and the Norwegian Embassy—CFM unveiled its inaugural investment in the Philippines: the acquisition of a minority stake in Tubig Pilipinas, a clean water platform providing essential water access to communities outside Metro Manila.
CFM manages two USD 1 billion EU-supported blended finance funds delivering climate-resilient initiatives in global emerging markets: Climate Investor One (CIO), focused on renewable energy and Climate Investor Two (CI2), focused on water, sanitation and oceans infrastructure. The minority stake acquired in Tubig Pilipinas was made through CFM’s Climate Investor Two Fund.
Speaking at the event, Nathan Schmidt, Regional Head of Asia at CFM, stated: “Today marks a significant milestone for CFM as we lay the foundation for major renewable energy and sustainability projects in the Philippines. We will be working closely with our partners including CNGRA, Tubig Pilipinas and others to deliver impactful interventions swiftly and at scale, supporting local communities that are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.”
CNGRA is a joint venture between CFM’s Climate Investor One Fund and Norwegian development finance institution Norfund. It invests in C&I solar rooftop projects across Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, CNGRA plans to expand into developing, constructing, and operating utility-scale solar and integrated battery projects. These initiatives are expected to reduce up to 150,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually and create 1,400 jobs over the next five years.
“Building on our extensive experience in solar rooftops, we are excited to enter the utility-scale market in the Philippines. We have developed a robust pipeline of high-impact projects and plan to begin construction on our first project by mid-2025,” said Rob Santler, CEO of CNGRA.
CFM is also exploring additional investments in waste and bioenergy in the Philippines with first announcements expected within the year. CFM is a joint venture between the Dutch development bank FMO and Sanlam Infraworks – part of the Sanlam Group of South Africa.
