The Hague, 2 July 2026: Climate Fund Managers, a climate-focused blended finance investment manager operating in emerging markets across Asia, Africa and Latin America, and Argos Partners, a Malaysian investment manager, have won Innovation of the Year (Funds and Portfolios) – APAC at the 2026 Environmental Finance Sustainable Investment Awards for the Malaysia Climate Infrastructure Fund (MCIF).
MCIF is a Shariah-compliant climate infrastructure fund anchored by Malaysia’s public pension fund, Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (KWAP) under its Dana Pemacu programme focused on climate mitigation and adaptation infrastructure in Malaysia, emerging Asia and Latin America. It is managed through CFM Argos, a joint venture between Climate Fund Managers and Argos Partners.
Drawing on Malaysia’s position as a global hub for Islamic finance, the fund enables the mobilisation of capital from both Islamic and conventional institutional investors, opening new sources of finance for climate infrastructure in emerging markets. The recognition also reinforces Malaysia’s growing role at the intersection of Islamic finance, sustainable investment and climate infrastructure financing.
Organised by Environmental Finance, an international publication covering sustainable investment and green finance markets, the Sustainable Investment Awards celebrate the investors, asset managers and investment strategies advancing sustainable investment across global markets. The Innovation of the Year category recognises pioneering investment approaches that demonstrate originality, measurable sustainability outcomes and leadership in developing sustainable investment markets.
MCIF was recognised for introducing an innovative, multi-sector, Shariah-compliant investment model designed to accelerate climate infrastructure investment across Malaysia and, over time, emerging Asia and Latin America. The fund addresses a significant financing gap facing climate infrastructure projects in emerging markets, where many viable projects struggle to access the long-term investment required for development and growth.
The judges highlighted MCIF’s ability to combine sustainability with Shariah-compliant investment principles, enabling the mobilisation of capital from both Islamic and conventional institutional investors while supporting climate finance at scale. The fund invests across renewable energy, water and wastewater, low-carbon transport and digital infrastructure, with an ambition to avoid approximately 3.9 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent emissions and improve access to climate-resilient infrastructure for up to one million people over its lifetime.
MCIF reached its first close at MYR 500 million (~USD 120 million) in March 2025, anchored by KWAP, and has already committed capital to three climate infrastructure investments, including two water infrastructure platforms in Southeast Asia and a waste-to-biogas platform in India.
Jeb Victorino, CEO of CFM Argos and Investment Director at Climate Fund Managers, said: “MCIF was designed to attract greater institutional investment into sustainable infrastructure by combining a multi-sector strategy with a Shariah-compliant structure that broadens the pool of potential investors. As demand for resilient infrastructure continues to grow, we believe innovative financing models like MCIF have an important role to play in mobilising capital at the scale needed. This award recognises the importance of developing investment models that are tailored to the realities of emerging markets.”
Abdul Hakeem, Managing Partner of Argos Group and Managing Director of CFM Argos, said: “This award validates the opportunity MCIF was created to address, which is the need for credible, scalable financing models for climate infrastructure in emerging markets. It also reflects the vision behind KWAP’s Dana Pemacu programme that was established to cultivate and empower local private equity and investment management expertise in Malaysia. By combining Climate Fund Managers’ global climate investment experience with Argos Partners’ expertise in Malaysia’s Islamic finance market, MCIF demonstrates how Shariah-compliant capital can be mobilised to deliver measurable climate impact.”
Read more at Environmental Finance: https://www.environmental-finance.com/content/awards/sustainable-investment-awards-2026/winners/innovation-of-the-year-(funds-and-portfolios)-apac-malaysia-climate-infrastructure-fund.html
Notes to Editors
For media enquiries, please contact Sophie Blythe: s.blythe@climatefundmanagers.com
About Climate Fund Managers:
Climate Fund Managers is a climate-focused blended finance investment manager operating in emerging markets across Africa, Asia and Latin America. It raises and deploys blended climate finance funds, working in partnership to deliver climate solutions at scale and pace. With over USD 2.8 billion in assets under management and more than 50 active projects, it invests across key areas of climate change mitigation and adaptation, including renewable energy; energy transition and green hydrogen; water, waste and maritime; and sustainable cities and the built environment. Its private equity strategies include Climate Investor One, Climate Investor Two, Climate Investor Three and the Shariah-compliant Malaysia Climate Infrastructure Fund (MCIF), which broadens access to climate infrastructure investment for Islamic investors. It also offers a private credit strategy through the GAIA Climate Loan Fund. Its funds are supported by public and private sector organisations, with public capital deployed strategically to balance risk and mobilise private sector capital, enabling investment across the project lifecycle – from development to construction and operation. Established in 2015, Climate Fund Managers is a joint venture between the Dutch development bank FMO and Sanlam InfraWorks of the Sanlam Group in South Africa, with offices in The Hague, Cape Town, Singapore and Bogotá. www.climatefundmanagers.com
About Argos Partners:
Argos Partners Sdn Bhd is the Dana Pemacu local talent Co-GP established in 2024. Its associated companies were established in 2020 as investment advisory firms specialising in infrastructure projects (Argos Group). The Argos Group has invested and managed over USD 3 billion in infrastructure investment and advised on USD 5 billion in Infrastructure projects in logistics, energy, telco towers, toll roads and utilities. The Argos Group has evolved beyond traditional investment advisory, the Group has established itself as a trusted partner, adviser and manager for large global funds, deploying capital into highly sophisticated financial ecosystems. The Group operates dynamic teams across both Private and Public markets, including using in-house developed quantitative models to capture alpha for clients.
Disclaimer
CFM Argos Sdn Bhd, a wholly owned subsidiary of the General Partner (CFM Argos Pte. Ltd.), is a private equity management corporation registered with the Securities Commission of Malaysia (“SC”) to undertake fund management activities in relation to private equity funds in Malaysia pursuant to the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 (“CMSA”). The Malaysia Climate Infrastructure Fund complies with the Labuan Financial Services and Securities Act 2010 and the Manager with the Capital Markets and Services Act 2007 and subsidiary legislation. Climate Fund Managers refers to one or more of Climate Fund Managers BV and its global network of companies, each of which is a separate legal entity. Climate Fund Managers is a manager of alternative investment funds and has obtained an AIFMD license from the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit financiële markten) pursuant to section 2:65 of the Dutch Act on Financial Supervision (Wet op het financieel toezicht). Climate Fund Managers is included in the public register maintained by the AFM on its website under license number 15004367.
