Sustainability-focused investment manager Mirova announced today that it has reached $282 million in commitments for the Mirova Gigaton Fund, its blended finance debt fund aimed at accelerating the clean energy transition in emerging markets, reaching more than half of the fund’s $500 million target a year after launching.

New investments in the Gigaton Fund since its first close in March 2023 include a $75 million senior commitment from the European Investment Bank (EIB).

The Mirova Gigaton Fund aims to provide medium- to long-term debt financing for clean energy projects, primarily in emerging countries in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia, in a bid to mobilize institutional investor support for high impact climate mitigation and adaptation, social development, economic infrastructure and gender equality investment. The fund focuses mostly on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), targeting areas including solar home systems, agri-solar, commercial & industrial solar, telecom tower solarization, mini-grids as well as other promising sectors such as e-mobility, battery storage, climate-smart food systems, energy efficiency and carbon credit pre-financing.

As part of the G7-founded initiative 2X Challenge, the fund also aims to improve the livelihoods of women, improving access to finance for female entrepreneurs in emerging markets, increasing women’s access to clean energy, and to equitable and quality employment, as well as supporting entrepreneurial success.

Ryan Levinson, Director of the Mirova Gigaton Fund, and Head of Emerging Market Energy Transition, said:

“Our global goal is to contribute to the acceleration of the transition to a low-carbon economy and improving energy access in Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. We are honored to have the EIB join us on that journey: it is a positive signal to private and public investors looking to allocate capital in emerging markets.”

In addition to its $75 million commitment, the EIB also announced a €5 million catalyst junior investment under the Luxembourg-EIB Climate Finance Platform, which aims to catalyze public and private sector investments into high-impact emerging markets companies involved in climate change and mitigation projects.

EIB Vice President Ambroise Fayolle said:

“Investing in clean energy in emerging economies means investing in resilience, helping communities to better adapt to the impact of climate change and fostering a more sustainable future.”

Projects supported by the fund to date include Kenya-based smallholder farmer-focused solar and irrigation system provider SunCulture, home solar system provider Solar Panda, and Gabon and Nigeria-focused clean energy solutions provider Energy Vision.

Raphaël Lance, Head of Energy Transition Funds at Mirova, said:

“The challenges of sustainable finance go beyond the borders of developed countries: by exceeding half its target after only one year of fundraising, the Mirova Gigaton Fund is testament to our ambition to develop our emerging markets platform to provide capital where investment  needs, particularly in infrastructure, will be the greatest in the coming decades.”