Convergence has awarded a proof of concept grant under the Gender Responsive Climate Finance Window to Matanataki to design and launch the Matanataki Pacific Fund I, a USD 50 million blended equity fund that will provide patient, risk-tolerant capital to reef and ocean-positive small and medium-sized enterprises in the Pacific Islands. The fund will target waste management, agriculture, fisheries, and tourism sectors, with a strong focus on gender equity.
The Pacific Islands have a negligible contribution to global emissions, yet they are among the most vulnerable to climate change impacts due to degradation of coral reefs, poor waste management, overfishing, and loss of biodiversity that threatens livelihoods, food security, and climate resilience. Women and indigenous communities are particularly vulnerable to climate change due to structural inequalities, underrepresentation in leadership, limited access to finance, and high levels of gender-based violence that make it more difficult to diversify their livelihoods.
The Matanataki Pacific Fund I aims to address existing gender norms by investing in reef-positive, gender-equitable businesses, encouraging women in leadership positions and embedding inclusive practices throughout their investment process. The fund will target at least 50% of its portfolio toward women-led or gender-inclusive enterprises. In addition to providing affordable capital, the fund will deliver pre- and post-investment support, active ownership, and professional development opportunities for women entrepreneurs. To strengthen the investability and resilience of its portfolio, Matanataki will launch a technical assistance facility, enabling targeted support for these businesses through services such as impact measurement, market linkages, indigenous knowledge integration, and climate adaptation planning.
With an ambitious impact vision, the fund aims to support 1,200 metric tons of sustainably sourced seafood annually, conserve and restore over 17,000 hectares of marine ecosystems, divert 57,000 metric tons of green waste into fertilizer, train 1,400 smallholder farmers in reef-positive practices, and collaborate with over 39 local partners across the region.
Design question and learning potential from the market: How can a locally led team structure a blended equity fund that effectively channels risk capital and attracts commercial investment into gender-equitable and climate-resilient enterprises in a high-risk, low-liquidity market such as the Pacific Islands?
Matanataki’s strategy responds to the challenges of operating in the Pacific Islands by combining flexible, self-liquidating financing instruments with robust technical assistance and hands-on portfolio support. This approach is designed not only to de-risk early-stage enterprises but also to demonstrate investability to commercial capital providers. The fund will also build a compelling private capital engagement strategy to convert initial investor interest into broader market confidence while embedding gender equity at all levels, from fund governance to portfolio operations.
Convergence’s proof-of-concept funding will support critical design-stage activities such as pipeline scoping and market development, stakeholder engagement, development of governance and legal structures, financial modeling and fund setup advisory, technical assistance facility design, and development of a gender action plan and impact strategy. These activities will lay the groundwork for first close and ensure the fund is investment-ready, impactful, and scalable.
