As climate challenges escalate, the importance of financing for climate adaptation is undeniable. As noted at the recently adjourned COP29, over 3.4 billion people live in regions that are highly vulnerable to climate change, threatening livelihoods and natural resources. However, adaptation efforts remain significantly underfunded worldwide. According to the State of Blended Finance 2024: Climate Edition, climate focused blended finance transactions make up half of all recorded deals, yet only 16% of all climate blended finance deals exclusively target adaptation.
At the same time, women often bear the brunt of climate-related disruptions in sectors such as agriculture, health, and water management. As we work towards climate resilience, it is critical to recognize the impact of climate change on women and girls, particularly in vulnerable regions. However, currently only 30% of the adaptation focused deals in our database integrate gender considerations.
We believe that with the right financing models these challenges can be transformed into powerful opportunities for women, positioning them as both beneficiaries and agents of climate adaptation. Blended finance has emerged as a transformative tool in the climate finance space, driving investments into high-impact areas that traditionally face challenges in attracting private sector investment. When gender focused strategies are embedded in climate blended finance the benefits can be exponential, amplifying resilience and empowering communities.
Through Convergence’s design funding and market acceleration programs, we aim to support innovative blended finance vehicles that will help build a more resilient, inclusive financial landscape that recognizes gender equity as essential to climate adaptation.
Two grantees from the Global Affairs Canada (GAC) supported Gender-Responsive Climate Finance Window (GRCF), Big Valley Advisors GmbH (Big Valley) and Villgro Innovations Foundation (Villgro), stand out as innovative leaders. Their unique approaches demonstrate how gender-sensitive climate adaptation projects can be structured to create lasting social and environmental impact.
Big Valley: Strengthening Women’s role in Agriculture through Strategic Technical Assistance
Big Valley, in collaboration with Puro.earth and CGIAR, is developing the Ag360 Climate Fund, a $150 million blended finance vehicle designed to support circular bioeconomy solutions in the Global South. The Fund intends to build climate change resilience on over 60,000 hectares of land, by providing patient loans to scalable projects in smallholder intensive agriculture value chains, focused on valorizing agriculture waste (notably through biochar production), funding soil health improvements, decarbonizing value chains, and supporting conservation agriculture.
What makes Big Valley’s approach particularly compelling is its gender-smart strategy. Women play a central role in many of the agricultural value chains the Fund supports, from regenerative farming to waste repurposing. By investing in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that empower women, the Fund will not only protect women from the impacts of climate change but position them to benefit economically. The Fund will offer KPI-linked loans to companies targeting circularity and gender-responsiveness. A dedicated technical assistance facility (TAF) will pilot biochar projects in pioneering SMEs and cooperatives to increase the equitable adoption of regenerative practices. Through partnerships with local consultants and CGIAR, the TAF will help establish measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems for agrifood SMEs, enabling them to track the transition to gender-based targets. By investing in agrifood businesses with women at the center—as leaders, entrepreneurs, and suppliers—the Fund will provide the necessary capital, tools, capacity, and resources to unlock the full potential of this innovative approach.
With grant funding support from the GRCF window, Big Valley is finalizing the structure of the Ag360 Climate Fund, developing a comprehensive gender strategy, a detailed gender action plan, and a robust TAF. To enhance financial resilience, the Fund will provide a cushion of at least 25% for senior investors, such as food corporations and large commodity traders, participating in the capital structure. Additionally, Big Valley has been selected to participate in the 2024 ICFA Cohort, further strengthening their position as a leader in gender-smart climate finance.
Villgro: Scaling Climate-Responsive Social Enterprises for Women through Guarantees
Villgro’s Inclusive Climate Action Scaleup Facility uses blended finance to address the financing gap faced by gender-inclusive climate technology social enterprises in India. By providing credit guarantees to local financial institutions, Villgro unlocks critical domestic financing for gender-smart climate-resilient enterprises. The Facility focuses on enterprises across the agriculture, climate action, and health sectors that have the potential to generate green jobs, sustainable income streams for underserved communities, and improved health outcomes for women.The Facility is specifically designed to empower these enterprises by helping to scale their innovations and enable adoption among underserved populations in hard-to-reach markets, thereby improving both market access and financing.
The Facility will incorporate a gender lens into its selection criteria at both the enterprise and end-customer level, measuring impact on women's economic empowerment through increased income levels, access to credit, capacity building, and decision making within enterprises. Villgro recognizes that women are not a homogenous group and their needs may vary across geography, segment, and socio-economic status. They aim to customize their financial products with flexible loan structures, repayment terms, and financial literacy programs tailored to women's preferences and constraints. Risk mitigation measures, such as guarantees, will substitute for the lack of collateral from women borrowers and innovation focused enterprises. As such, blended finance plays a critical role in reducing both real and perceived risks, making these investments more appealing, particularly for private sector investors.
In this way, the Facility directly contributes to women’s financial independence by enhancing skills, helping women move up the value chain, and creating pathways for asset ownership. Villgro takes a bottom-up approach that prioritizes grassroot level community engagement and actively involves women in decision making processes. Research conducted by Villgro has found that involving women as demonstration and sales champions enhances community engagement and acceptance, especially among women customers who feel more secure and comfortable, ultimately leading to greater customer satisfaction and impact.
Villgro is developing an impact framework, end-user repayment model, detailed gender action plan and finalizing the structure of the facility with grant funding support from Convergence. Villgro will continue to partner with local enterprises and service providers to collectively discuss various solutions, enhancing the facility’s effectiveness as a robust, gender-responsive blended finance structure for impactful decision making in climate adaptation.
Turning Challenges into Opportunities
Big Valley and Villgro showcase how blended finance can transform climate challenges into empowering opportunities for women, creating a blueprint for other practitioners in the ecosystem. As the world continues to grapple with the dual crises of climate change and gender inequality, solutions like these provide a practical way forward. They show us that with the right tools and strategies, we can build a future where resilience is inclusive and where women have the resources and opportunities to thrive, even in the face of climate adversity.
By funding and supporting early-stage initiatives, Convergence is actively shaping a sector that acknowledges the critical role of women in climate resilience. Convergence’s support includes not only financial assistance but also technical guidance, helping grantees identify the resources and expertise to integrate gender and climate goals effectively. This knowledge sharing ensures that funded projects under the GRCF window set a benchmark and high standard for workable gender-responsive climate adaptation financing solutions, creating a pipeline of investable solutions for emerging climate finance investors.
