Blended Finance Accelerator is sponsored by Convergence. Convergence's Blended Finance Accelerator provides early-stage grant funding focused exclusively on the design of innovative blended finance solutions.

It supports practitioners with design grants, acceleration support, and market intelligence to scope, structure, and launch new blended finance solutions that unlock commercial investment to accelerate sustainable development in emerging markets.

Blended Finance Accelerator (formerly Design Funding) | Convergence Blended Finance Accelerator (formerly the Design Funding program) Supporting early-stage blended finance practitioners with design grants, acceleration support, and market intelligence to scope, structure, and launch new blended finance solutions that unlock commercial investment to accelerate sustainable development in emerging markets.

Frequently Asked Questions Blended Finance Accelerator for Fund Managers (A4FM) Emerging and developing economies (EMDEs), specifically least developed countries (LDCs) and lower middle-income countries (LMICs), provide compelling opportunities for Canadian as well as globally-based fund and asset managers with the potential for increased growth, portfolio diversification, access to an array of asset classes, and scaling-up new investment strategies.

Blended finance uses catalytic capital to reduce risk exposure in such investments, enabling private institutional investors to enter these markets. Whether you are a first-time manager or an established firm entering new EMDE markets, A4FM equips you with the support needed to scope, structure, and launch scalable blended finance vehicles.

Through catalytic grants, skill-building, market insights, and on-going acceleration support, the program helps fund and asset managers to: -Build blended finance capacity and equip teams to structure blended vehicles -Diversify market reach and portfolio exposure of blended vehicles -Enter high-growth, high-impact markets by reducing risk exposure -Gain early access to untapped, frontier opportunities while supporting sustainability Les économies émergentes et en développement (EMDE), en particulier les pays les moins avancés (PMA) et les pays à revenu intermédiaire inférieur, offrent des opportunités intéressantes aux gestionnaires de fonds et d'actifs canadiens et internationaux, notamment en matière de croissance accrue, de diversification des portefeuilles, d’accès à un large éventail de classes d’actifs et de développement de nouvelles stratégies d’investissement.

Le financement mixte mobilise des capitaux catalytiques afin de réduire l’exposition au risque dans ce type d’investissements, permettant ainsi aux investisseurs institutionnels privés d’accéder à ces marchés.

Que vous soyez un gestionnaire émergent ou une société bien établie souhaitant s’implanter sur de nouveaux marchés EMDE, A4FM vous apporte le soutien nécessaire pour définir, structurer et lancer des véhicules de financement mixte évolutifs.

Grâce à des subventions catalytiques, au renforcement des capacités, à des analyses de marché et à un accompagnement continu, le programme aide les gestionnaires de fonds et d’actifs à: -Renforcer leurs capacités en matière de financement mixte et doter leurs équipes des outils nécessaires pour structurer des véhicules de financement mixte -Diversifier leur couverture de marché et l’exposition de leurs portefeuilles -Accéder à des marchés à forte croissance et à fort impact tout en réduisant leur exposition au risque -Accéder rapidement à des opportunités inexploitées et innovantes, tout en soutenant la durabilité May 25, 2026, 11:59 PM EST Asia Climate Solutions Design Grant The Asia Climate Solutions (ACS) Design Grant will provide early-stage grants for high-impact climate financing solutions in emerging markets in Asia.

The Grant aims to mobilize private capital at scale into high-impact target sectors across climate mitigation and adaptation. Next application intake - to be announced Indo-Pacific NGO Blended Finance Accelerator The Indo-Pacific NGO Blended Finance Accelerator supports non-governmental organizations (NGOs) working on transformative development projects and pioneering new approaches to financing sustainable development in the region.

The Accelerator will provide a.) catalytic grant funding, and b.) acceleration support to qualifying awardees to scope, develop, and scale high-impact blended finance vehicles that can unlock private capital to advance economic development, inclusive of climate and gender equality, in the Indo-Pacific region.

Second Call for Proposals launching on June 1, 2026 Catalytic Climate Finance Facility The Catalytic Climate Finance Facility (CC Facility) is a partnership between Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and Convergence focused on scaling sustainable climate finance by providing grant funding and dedicated acceleration services to early-stage and market-ready financial solutions in sectors that are severely under-financed in developing countries.

Next application intake - To be announced Gender-Responsive Climate Finance Window The Gender-Responsive Climate Finance Design Funding Window will award early-stage grant funding for the design and launch of innovative blended finance vehicles focused on the intersection of climate change and gender equality in emerging markets globally. This Window is funded by the Government of Canada.

Le Guichet de financement de la conception du financement climatique sensible au genre va accorder des subventions de démarrage pour la conception et le lancement de véhicules de financement mixte innovants axés sur l’intersection des problématiques de changement climatique et d’égalité des genres dans les marchés émergents du monde entier. Ce guichet est financé par le gouvernement du Canada.

No longer accepting applications Asia Natural Capital Design Funding Window The Asia Natural Capital Design Funding Window provided grant funding for the design and launch of catalytic blended finance solutions focused on natural capital in Asia. This Window was funded thanks to the support of the RS Group, a family office based in Asia. It is closed and no longer accepting applications.

Indo-Pacific Design Funding Window The Indo-Pacific Design Funding Window provided grant funding for the design and launch of catalytic blended finance solutions focused on climate finance and gender equality in certain countries in the Indo-Pacific region. This Window was funded by the Australian Government. It is closed and is not accepting applications.

SDG Impact Finance Initiative Design Funding Window The SDG Impact Finance Initiative’s Innovation Window awards grants for innovative impact finance solutions to mobilize private capital for sustainable development in emerging and frontier markets. The Initiative is funded by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the Swiss Development Cooperation Agency (SDC), the UBS Optimus Foundation, and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

From 2022 to 2024, Convergence supported the design, set-up, launch, and management of the Innovation Window as the strategic implementing partner for the Window’s first three funding cycles, awarding USD 4. 6 million to 19 solutions ranging in maturity from feasibility studies to proof of concepts and expansion stage grants across multiple SDGs and the Global South. Review the grant portfolio to learn more.

Tertiary Education Financing Competition This competition aimed to identify and award successful existing student financing solutions to: 1.) help more young people enter tertiary education, 2.) drive improved education outcomes, and 3.)

increase youth employment. | (French) Ce concours a identifié les solutions de financement d’études existantes qui peuvent aider davantage de jeunes à entrer dans l’enseignement supérieur et ainsi améliorer les résultats en matière d’éducation ainsi que l’augmentation de l’emploi des jeunes.

| (Spanish) Este premio identifié soluciones exitosas de financiamión de estudiantes existentes que pueden ayudar a más jóvenes a ingresar a la educación terciaria y, por lo tanto, impulsar mejores resultados educativos, así como un mayor empleo juvenil.

Global Emerging Markets Design Funding Window The Global Emerging Markets Design Funding Window provided grant funding for the design and launch of catalytic blended finance solutions across emerging markets. This Window was funded by Global Affairs Canada. It is closed and no longer accepting applications.

The UN Joint SDG Fund (the Fund) aims to close the financing gap to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries through systemic action by the UN system. Component 2 of the Fund provides grant funding, preparatory and catalytic grants to initiatives that can deliver a demonstration of concept and leverage investment at scale.

Between April 2020 and February 2021, Convergence led an independent evaluation process to evaluate and select initiatives for the First Call on SDG Financing for Component 2 of the Fund. Frequently Asked Questions What is the Blended Finance Accelerator?

Convergence’s Blended Finance Accelerator is a unique market acceleration program providing early-stage grant funding focused exclusively on the design of innovative blended finance solutions. Despite the significant potential of blended finance, the reality is that often transactions are complex, time intensive, and high-cost to structure and launch.

The Blended Finance Accelerator is meant to support this process and encourage organizations to design solutions that would otherwise be too risky or complex to pursue, but show high potential to attract private capital at scale if successful. Convergence operates multiple Blended Finance Accelerator initiatives with different thematic and geographic targets. What kind of grants are provided?

Convergence offers feasibility study, proof-of-concept, and expansion grants. Feasibility study grants are to be used to explore the feasibility of a blended finance solution. Activities funded under a feasibility study grant could include assessing the investability/bankability of a transaction, conducting market scoping, and developing the vehicle structure.

Proof-of-concept grants are to be used to complete all design and structuring activities required to get a blended finance solution to launch. Activities funded under a proof-of-concept grant could include finalizing the capital structure and financial model, establishing the legal structure, and finalizing key documents. Expansion grants are used to support already launched vehicles to scale and reach a financially viable size.

Activities funded under an expansion grant could include fundraising/marketing to reach capital-raising targets, producing key legal documents, due diligence on the initial pipeline, and capital deployment and hiring of key personnel. Grant amounts and duration depend on the solution’s stage of development as well as the Blended Finance Accelerator initiative under which the grant is awarded. Who is eligible to apply for funding?

Any organization or consortium of organizations is eligible to apply for funding. For example, eligible organizations could include asset owners, asset managers, financial intermediaries, advisory firms, financial institutions, foundations, not-for-profit organizations, social enterprises, and corporations. The lead organization must be able to provide proof of incorporation and financial statements for the previous fiscal year.

Multi-lateral organizations (e.g. United Nations agencies) and development banks (e.g. World Bank Group, Development Finance Institutions) are not eligible to apply for or directly receive a grant, but may be part of a consortium with private sector firm(s) and/or non-governmental organization(s) receiving a grant. How do you apply for funding?

Visit our Blended Finance Accelerator page for initiatives that are currently accepting applications. If you and your solution fit the eligibility criteria for an open initiative, then please follow the instructions on the specific page to apply. Note that each solution can only be submitted to one initiative.

Which initiative should I apply to? It is the applicant’s responsibility to choose the initiative for which they are best suited. Visit our Blended Finance Accelerator page and navigate to individual initiative pages to learn more about the focus areas and eligibility criteria for each initiative.

If an organization is eligible under multiple initiatives, they must select one initiative to apply to. If an applicant has applied to one initiative and has been rejected, they are able to apply to another initiative with the same concept, provided they are also eligible under that initiatives. Organizations are able to apply to multiple initiatives simultaneously with unique concepts.

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