The Indo-Pacific NGO Blended Finance Accelerator, an initiative launched by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in partnership with Convergence Blended Finance, completed its first Call for Proposals with a strong and diverse response from NGOs seeking to mobilize private capital for climate action and gender equality outcomes across the Indo-Pacific.
With over 80 applications received, the response underscores the growing ambition of NGOs to participate in blended finance transactions amid persistent financing gaps and grant and donor funding volatility, particularly in underserved and climate-vulnerable markets.
Convergence’s Market Data indicates that only 17% of all blended finance transactions have an NGO participating in developing and implementing the transaction, highlighting a clear gap between interest and participation. Consultations conducted by Convergence highlight several key barriers faced by NGOs, including limited technical expertise in structuring financial vehicles, regulatory constraints, and challenges in securing organizational buy-in.
This Accelerator provides vital support to strengthen the role of NGOs in blended finance transactions, enabling them to design, pilot, and scale innovative projects, as impact managers, technical assistance providers and, where suitable, fund managers.
Against this backdrop, it is encouraging to see a diverse range of applications, spanning early-stage concepts to near-investment-ready vehicles, with a strong focus on solutions targeting women-led enterprises and climate-resilient business models.
Following a competitive review process, the proposals advancing to the full proposal stage demonstrated strong alignment with the Accelerator’s objectives. These included solutions in which NGOs played a central role in the design and implementation, with clear value propositions for target markets, strong organizational commitment, locally anchored delivery models, and credible potential to address development finance gaps through innovative blended finance structures. Common across the cohort is a strong emphasis on small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) financing, particularly in undercapitalized markets, alongside the use of blended instruments including guarantees, private credit, equity funds, trade finance facilities, bonds, and project finance structures.
Spanning multiple regions and asset classes, the proposals consistently target persistent market constraints such as perceived credit and currency risk, limited risk appetite for early- and growth-stage enterprises, and restricted access to working capital and long-term finance for women-led and climate-focused SMEs.
Collectively, these proposals reflect a clear shift toward integrated, intersectional solutions that address cross-cutting themes of climate resilience, healthcare delivery, sustainable agriculture, nature-based solutions, and gender that remain underserved by traditional financial markets.
Semi-Finalists for the First Call for Proposals
(Presented in alphabetical order)
Caritas Australia’s Lumana Health Facility
A facility expanding reliable solar energy across rural health facilities in Papua New Guinea, strengthening climate resilience and healthcare delivery in remote communities in partnership with Catholic Church Health Services (CCHS), TAG Energy PNG, and bechtel.org
Goodreturn Impact Investment Fund II
A blended finance fund supporting local financial service providers across the Pacific and Southeast Asia to lend to new markets through a credit guarantee and technical assistance sidecar, with a focus on women-led SMEs.
Grameen Foundation and IIX's InvestHER Climate Resilience Bond for Women
A blended bond designed to channel capital to women-focused SMEs with high-impact green and blue economy solutions in the Philippines.
Oxfam Australia and OBOR’s Equi Green Fund (EGF)
A private investment fund providing flexible capital to inclusive, gender-responsive, and climate-resilient growth stage SMEs across Southeast Asia.
Red Hat Impact, ICDP and Criterion’s Indo-Pacific Trade Finance Vehicle for Women’s MSMEs (TFV 2.0)
A trade finance facility addressing working capital constraints for women-led MSMEs across the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
Save the Children Global Venture’s Asia Health Care Fund
A private equity fund investing in early- and growth-stage healthcare ventures across the Pacific and Southeast Asia.
Transform Aid International (TAI)’s Climate Resilient Livelihood Facility (CRLF)
TAI and partners, Baptist Aid-Bangladesh Baptist Church Fellowship (BBCF), PARI Development Trust (PARI), Protibondhi Community Centre (PCC), Brightlight, and LINC Strategies are developing a private credit facility channelling catalytic capital into locally led, climate-resilient, women-led enterprises targeting agricultural markets in Bangladesh.
World Vision Australia and Vision Fund International’s Women’s Green Enterprise Guarantee Facility
World Vision Australia is partnering with World Vision in Sri Lanka and Cambodia, and with Wahana Visi Indonesia, to develop a guarantee facility that de-risks lending to women-led MSMEs delivering climate-resilient solutions across South and Southeast Asia.
WWF and Terraformation’s CANOPY Blended Finance Facility for Biodiverse Mangrove Restoration
A project finance facility supporting community-driven mangrove restoration and reforestation projects across the Asia Pacific.
Xpand Foundation, Pollination Group, and Foundation Rai Matak's Rai Matak Global
An agroforestry financing platform designed to scale community-led agroforestry forests in Timor-Leste.
These semi-finalists reflect the breadth of innovation emerging from NGOs applying blended finance to address climate and gender challenges across the Indo-Pacific. Spanning multiple vehicle types, they demonstrate how NGOs can design investable solutions that mobilize private capital while delivering measurable development impact.
“The strong response to this first call demonstrates pent-up demand among NGOs for private sector financing tools that scale-up impact for their end beneficiaries. By supporting NGOs in pursuit of blended finance solutions, the Accelerator will tap new wells of opportunity to attract private capital for community resilience and mission-driven economic growth across the region”, Convergence Senior Director, Leah Pedersen.
A subset of these proposals will undergo further detailed due diligence and will be considered for award consideration.
Stay tuned for the final list of awardees and for future call for proposals, and congratulations to these semi-finalists.
