Partners join forces to develop a new climate and peace investment strategy

The Nordic Development Fund (NDF), Incofin Investment Management (Incofin IM), the Peace Dividend Initiative (PDI), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), join forces to develop a strategy to support climate and peace initiatives.

The purpose of this collaboration is to design a new impact investing strategy that increases access to finance for entrepreneurs building climate and peace-supporting businesses in lower-income countries and conflict-affected regions.

This initiative, entitled the Climate and Peace Investment Fund (CPIF), aims to address two of the defining challenges of our time: climate change and conflict.

Conflict is rising across the globe at the same time climate change is exacerbating food, water and livelihood insecurity, heightening competition over natural resources and driving displacement. These factors can deepen vulnerabilities, existing tensions and social divisions.

Yet there is another story unfolding, one that receives less attention.

Even in conflict-affected settings, entrepreneurs continue to build businesses, create jobs and serve their communities. They invest, innovate and persevere despite extraordinary challenges. Their enterprises help create livelihoods, strengthen resilience to climate change and offer alternatives to violence and displacement.

These entrepreneurs deserve access to finance. Over the coming months, a comprehensive design process will shape this initiative into a concrete, investable strategy. In each partner country, targeted analyses will identify opportunities to support peacebuilding, strengthen social cohesion, and advance climate action, while carefully mitigating potential risks or unintended harm. At the same time, a broad coalition of public, philanthropic, and private investors will be brought together to mobilize the scale of support needed to turn this vision into impact.

One of NDF's priorities is to ensure that climate finance reaches the communities most vulnerable to climate change, which are too often underserved by existing financing models. By supporting CPIF from an early stage and working alongside our partners, we are helping to build the foundations for a credible investment strategy that can unlock capital at scale in lower-income countries and conflict-affected contexts, where access to climate finance remains far too limited.

Isabel Leroux

Program Manager at Nordic Development Fund

PDI’s experience is that local entrepreneurs have innovative solutions to adapt to climate change, what they often lack is capital. This is especially the case in countries emerging from conflict. By working with our partners to launch the CPIF, PDI aims to harness capital at scale to support entrepreneurs in frontier markets.

Liam Foran

CEO, PDI

Too little capital reaches the markets that are most vulnerable to climate change and conflict. CPIF is an opportunity to change that. By combining Incofin’s investment experience in emerging and frontier markets with the expertise of our partners, we aim to build an investable strategy that can attract capital at scale while delivering measurable climate, social and peace outcomes.

Serkan Alhan

Managing Partner, Incofin Investment Management

About the partners

Nordic Development Fund

Nordic Development Fund (NDF) is the joint Nordic international finance institution of the five Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. NDF focuses on the nexus between climate change and development in lower-income countries and countries in fragile situations. Since the introduction of the climate mandate in 2009, NDF has built a track record of adding value by financing climate mitigation and adaptation projects in close interaction with its extensive network of strategic partners. Learn more: www.ndf.int

Incofin Investment Management

Incofin is a global impact investment firm with more than 30 years’ experience of making investments in emerging markets. Since inception, it has invested more than USD 5 billion in 80 countries. It has expertise in inclusive finance, sustainable agri-food systems and clean water through private debt and private equity. Learn more: www.incofin.com

Peace Dividend Initiative

The Peace Dividend Initiative (PDI) is a peace-dividend accelerator dedicated to harnessing market forces for peace. PDI bridges the gap between peace mediation and economic actors through dialogue, incubation, and investment.

United Nations Development Programme

UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with partners in 170 countries, UNDP helps nations build integrated, sustainable solutions for people and planet. Learn more at undp.org or follow @UNDP.

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation

SDC is responsible for the overall coordination of development cooperation alongside other federal offices, as well as for Swiss humanitarian aid. It focuses on fragile and conflict-affected regions, and works to alleviate need and poverty, uphold human rights, promote democracy and protect the environment.

This collaboration will leverage the expertise of each partner:

NDF’s expertise in catalytic finance at the intersection of climate and development in the least developed countries and countries in fragile situations;

Incofin Investment Management’s expertise in impact investing in emerging markets to drive inclusive progress;

PDI’s peace-impact analysis and expertise in helping entrepreneurs create peace-supporting economic opportunities in conflict-affected regions;

UNDP’s expertise in supporting countries to develop policies and capabilities needed to sustain their progress; and

SDC’s expertise in international cooperation with a particular focus on fragile and conflict-affected regions.

Today marks an important milestone, but it is only the beginning.

If you would like to learn more, we would be delighted to hear from you.

Communications contacts

NDF – isabel.leroux@ndf.int

Incofin – shonan.kothari@incofin.com

PDI – jonathan@peacedividends.org

UNDP – henny.ngu@undp.org

SDC – info.deza@eda.admin.ch