Climate Gender Equity Fund (CGEF)

The Climate Gender Equity Fund (CGEF) is a public-private partnership led by USAID with founding members Amazon, Reckitt, The UPS Foundation, and Visa Foundation that seeks to increase access to climate finance for gender-responsive, women-led, and women-benefiting organisations.

Overview

There is an ever-growing body of evidence that demonstrates the critical role women play in climate change mitigation and adaptation - women are innovators, leaders, entrepreneurs, employees, and customers in climate-related fields. Women and girls, especially from underrepresented and marginalised groups, are also disproportionately affected by natural and climate disasters given that they represent the majority of the world’s poor and are proportionally more dependent upon threatened natural resources. 

At COP27, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), with the support of Amazon, launched the Climate Gender Equity Fund (CGEF) as one of the first major activities under USAID’s Climate Finance for Development Accelerator, a US$250 million initiative designed to mobilise US$2.5 billion in public and private climate investments by 2030 to fund a range of climate change mitigation and adaptation solutions. CGEF is an innovative public-private partnership led by USAID that seeks to increase access to climate finance for gender-responsive, women-led, and women-benefitting organisations that address climate change. In its first year, CGEF raised over US$20 million and welcomed founding partners Reckitt, The UPS Foundation, and the Visa Foundation alongside USAID and Amazon. CGEF’s grantmaking is managed by 2X Global, an international non-profit membership organisation and the leading global industry body working at the nexus of climate and gender finance.

Join us in building a movement to catalyze gender equity in climate finance!

Founding members:

Second funding round

CGEF is proud to announce the launch of its second Request for Proposals (RFP). This RFP seeks to reach climate- and gender-smart fund managers and network organisations and intermediaries aiming to unlock capital for long-term and systemic change that catalyses gender equity in climate finance in emerging markets. In both categories, preference will be given to those that also yield positive health outcomes as a direct objective or strong co-benefit of the intervention.

The funding round seeks applications from the following in countries where USAID works globally:

  1. Climate- and gender-smart emerging impact investment funds (and investment vehicles), with a strong preference for women-led funds/vehicles: Grants seek to support investment funds and vehicles aligned with the 2X Criteria and that advance climate solutions and increase gender equality by developing, scaling, and investing in climate mitigation and adaptation businesses and solutions. 

  2. Network organisations and intermediaries supporting women entrepreneurs working in climate action: Grants seek to support intermediaries that facilitate financing or provide other forms of support to women entrepreneurs working at the frontlines of climate action (such as women entrepreneur networks, incubators, accelerators, business service providers, and field-building associations).

An informational webinar about this funding round was hosted last May 7th 2024. To watch the webinar recording, please click here.

First funding round grantees

https://cleantechnologyhub.com/

Clean Technology Hub | Nigeria

Ifeoma Malo, CEO and Co-founder

The Clean Technology Hub is an accelerator with a network of more than 60 women-led startups working on clean energy and sustainability solutions in Africa, including a company that designs solar dryers for rural farmers, making it more affordable for farmers to dry and process their harvested vegetables while also reducing the use of fossil fuel-powered driers.

The grant will provide seed funding to women-led businesses working on climate initiatives benefiting women and children.

M-Kyala Ventures | Kenya

Carolyne Kirabo, Founder and CEO

M-Kyala Ventures has helped hundreds of women entrepreneurs across Africa get access to mentoring and networking and has driven more than $500,000 to women-owned businesses in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda.

The firm has a strong track record supporting women in climate smart enterprises including in agroecology, circular waste management, renewable energy a recent example being the support of a gender agroecology accelerator in Uganda and a renewable energy women’s program in Tanzania.

The grant will help M-Kyala Ventures invest in women-led companies working on projects related to solar water pumps, reforestation, plastic recycling, agroecology, and organic fertiliser.

WomHub | South Africa

Hema Vallabh and Naadiya Moosajee, Co-founders

WomHub is an accelerator that has supported more than 2000 female STEM business founders with funding, financial readiness skills, and leadership support. The accelerator also leads girls’ STEM education efforts across 30 countries. WomHub recently supported the Solar Power Café, which provides fully automated solar backup power for small businesses, as well as a women-led startup that provides HVAC analysis and design that reduces energy consumption.

The grant will enable WomHub to grow its virtual accelerator program that provides female founders with a dedicated coach, as well as enable them to make additional grants to new startups.

ATG Samata | Sub-Saharan Africa

Lelemba Phiri and Lisa G. Thomas, Co-founders

ATG Samata is a women-led fund manager focused on key markets in sub-Saharan Africa with an emphasis on Kenya, Uganda, Nigeria, Ghana, Mozambique and Zambia.

Their fund is a gender-lens venture fund targeting early stage, scalable businesses in emerging markets. Their approach focuses on investing in outstanding female-led and gender-diverse teams that are operating in high growth industry segments with significant female presence within the value chain.

Co-founders Lelemba and Lisa and their team plan to use the CGEF grant funding to make additional investments as they work towards a first close planned for late 2024.

wCap | Zambia

Nyeji Chilembo-Mhango, Co-founder

wCap is the only woman-owned venture capital firm in Zambia and is focused on bridging the funding gap for early stage high growth women-led businesses offering climate solutions in selected countries in Southern Africa.

In 2022, wCap established a gender lens climate-focused funding mechanism to increase the volume of climate finance that flows into women-led businesses in the region.   The team plans to deploy the 2x CGEF grant funding as catalytic investment capital into a high-growth and high-impact business benefiting women-led businesses and addressing gender-climate vulnerabilities.

FAQs

  • We are thrilled that you are thinking about applying to CGEF! We strongly encourage all applicants to review the information on this website and the Request for Proposal (RFP) document regarding the grant program, eligibility, and our selection criteria. After reviewing the website and documents, you can start your application through this link.

  • CGEF will review applications that are submitted within the application window (deadline for submission: May 17, 2024 at 11:59 PM GMT+1). Each application will be reviewed and scored by a committee. The specific evaluation criteria are outlined in the second funding round’s Request for Proposals (RFP2).

  • This RFP seeks to reach climate- and gender-smart fund managers and network organisations and intermediaries aiming to unlock capital for long-term and systemic change that catalyses gender equity in climate finance in emerging markets. In both categories, preference will be given to those that also yield positive health outcomes as a direct objective or strong co-benefit of the intervention.

    The funding round seeks applications from the following in countries where USAID works globally.

    The types of organisations that may apply for financing include:
    - Fund managers or investment vehicles
    - Women entrepreneur networks
    - Incubators
    - Accelerators
    - Business service providers
    - Business associations
    - Membership organisations
    - Non-profit organisations
    - Consortiums (must submit a single application)

  • To be eligible to receive grants from CGEF, organisations must also meet the following criteria:

    1. Be registered, formally constituted, recognized by and in good standing with the appropriate authorities, and compliant with all applicable civil and fiscal regulations.

    2. Demonstrate adequate administrative and financial systems to comply with accountability and reporting requirements.

    3. Have adequate financial resources (appropriate for the stage of their business) or the ability to obtain them, as well as the ability to comply with the award conditions, taking into account all existing and prospective commitments of the applicant.

    4. Have a satisfactory record of performance, and;

    5. Have a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics and be otherwise qualified and eligible to receive a grant under applicable laws and regulations.

    Please read the full RFP for guidance.

  • No, there is no geographical preference for this funding round. However, programmes must be implemented in countries where USAID works. Please visit this link to see the list of countries where USAID works. Preference will be given to applicants who are deeply entrenched in their operating environment and possess an understanding of its context.

    We consider applications that cover multiple regions and/or countries. Please only submit one application for your entity and reflect the geographical scope. Do note that your organisation must be registered in a country where USAID operates.

  • Applications, including a budget (provided on the platform), must be submitted online using the application portal at https://cgef.grantplatform.com.

  • Yes, you can download a sample application PDF from the application portal. Once you are ready to apply, please complete the application form online on the CGEF application portal.

  • Applications are due by May 17, 2024 GMT+1.

  • At this moment, we are only accepting applicatons in English.

  • No, applicants are only allowed to submit one application each funding round. That being said, you can only apply under one catagory and not both.

  • Yes, CGEF funding rounds are unique therefore we accept re-applications. Each application is assessed per eligibility criteria for each funding round.

  • No, you will not be able to update an application once it has been submitted.

  • After submitting your application online, you will receive a confirmation email from 2X Global. If you are selected to receive a grant, you will be notified in August 2024. 2X Global will also notify applicants who are not selected to receive a grant. Due to the volume of applications, we will unfortunately not be able to provide individualised feedback.

  • CGEF anticipates awarding multiple grants under this RFP in each category with an aggregate value of up to $5 million (USD) for this funding round. CGEF is targeting grant tickets ranging between $500,000 to $1,000,000 (USD) depending on the proposed level of impact, the track record of the applicants in managing a similar volume of finance for climate and gender activities, and the catalytic nature of the grant finance provided by CGEF.

  • Grant activities are expected to last for 18-24 months.

    For fund managers/investment vehicles: In the case of a fund manager using parts of the grant to make investments in gender-smart companies, it is expected that such investments are made within 18-24 months, recognizing that the tenor of the investment itself can be significantly longer.

  • Yes. Applicants who apply to this round of funding will not be precluded from participating in future grant rounds.

  • Funds will be disbursed in the currency in which the applicant requires them. Typically this is local currency. However, if a fund manager requests the grant to make investments in USD, then the currency is USD. It always matches the currency of the use of funds.

  • Both Category 1 and Category 2 applicants can decide how to structure their proposals by choosing what amount they propose to use for their organisation (e.g., as working capital) and deciding what amount they propose to invest in or grant out to women-led, owned, or benefiting businesses. For Category 1 applicants, grants for pipeline and portfolio companies may be provided as pre-investment or post-investment technical assistance or in the form of investment capital (any instrument).

  • Yes. These indicators are listed in the RFP document.

  • The application must have a climate and gender focus. This round also has a preference for an additional health lens, but not necessary to have one to apply.

  • You can either provide information on existing entrepreneurs or identify potential ones as part of project implementation. Please clearly indicate whether or not the entrepreneurs you’ve identified are existing or prospective partners.

  • No, matching funds are not a requirement.

Interested in CGEF?

CGEF seeks to increase access to climate finance for gender-responsive, women-led, and women-benefitting organizations that address climate change in global emerging markets where USAID operates. Stay updated on each funding round by subscribing to the 2X Global Newsletter. To be automatically notified of future CGEF funding rounds and other USAID climate finance opportunities, join the USAID Climate Finance Investment Network.

The information provided on this website is not official U.S. Government information and does not represent the views or positions of the U.S. Agency for International Development or the U.S. Government.