BFA Global Climate and Finance Innovations (ClimaFii) Alliance 2025 (USD $45,000 Grants & $40k In-kind support)

Reach us on

Nominations are open for BFA Global Climate and Finance Innovations (ClimaFii) Alliance 2025. The Climate and Finance Innovations (ClimaFii, rhymes with fly) Alliance formed by Shell Foundation, Accion, BFA Global, and Upaya Social Ventures seeks to provide catalytic support to climate enterprises (startups and SMEs) in sub-Saharan Africa and India, respectively, to accelerate climate-smart technologies specifically designed to benefit microentrepreneurs.

Unlike most acceleration initiatives, this 5-year program follows an innovative, multi-pronged approach to make climate technologies more accessible to microentrepreneurs and increase access to capital for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to foster inclusive clean energy solutions and deploy early-stage capital more efficiently. In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), they do this through:

Grant support and venture building for climate enterprises
Credit pilots in partnership with Accion and
Facilitate follow-on funding for the selected enterprises.

Microentrepreneurs are vital to local economies but struggle to grow due to limited access to markets, appropriate technology, and financing. ClimaFii aims to address critical challenges faced by microentrepreneurs (MEs) in accessing affordable and appropriate clean energy solutions in India and Africa. MEs are dependent on inefficient, high-cost energy sources, limiting productivity and income potential. With the Distributed Renewable Energy (DRE) sector poised for growth, there is a significant opportunity to transform how microenterprises operate by introducing affordable and clean energy solutions to adapt to climate change and protect livelihoods.

Climate and Finance Innovations (ClimaFii) Alliance Benefits

Venture acceleration
- Access to hands-on, customized and proven model for BFA Global’s venture-building support over 5-6 months tailored to each startup/SME’s needs. Examples of support offered: UI/UX research and testing, go-to-market strategies: customer segmentation, service optimization and blueprints, B2B sales, investment readiness: fundraising strategy, data room prep, financial modeling and impact metrics.
Funding Information
- Grants: Milestone-based cash grants of USD $45,000 for selected startups/SME
- Venture building: In-kind support valued at $40k focused on go-to market strategies and partnerships
- Credit: Partnerships with FSP facilitated by Accion to increase access to credit
- Follow-on Funding: Through their investment readiness support, they help enterprises raise follow-on capital through their investment committee and their investor network, including over 100 leading institutional investors. Follow-on funding could include grants from other funders, as well as equity and debt financing. Their program aims for at least 6 of the selected enterprises to successfully raise follow-on funding after the first year of this program.

What They look for in the SSA cohort?

Startups / SMEsStartups / SMEs building clean energy / DRE solutions specifically or mostly for microentrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa, especially women microentrepreneurs.
Stage Early-stage clean energy startups / SMEs that have a product in the market potential to reach ~2,000 ME customers by the end of the program.
Women-led and women-owned businesses are particularly encouraged to apply.

Eligibility Criteria for Climate and Finance Innovations (ClimaFii) Alliance

Geography
- Operating in sub-Saharan Africa only.
Sectors
- Productive Energy Applications (i.e., increase productivity or decrease inputs in farms) & Logistics & Distribution Solutions
- Decentralized Energy Systems & Distribution
- Clean Mobility Systems & Infrastructure
- Financial Services
- Tech & Data Services
Product
- Startups/SMEs should have a minimum viable product (MVP) in the market with proven usage by microentrepreneurs
Market Fit
- Clear solution to a specific market problem, preferably tech-enabled for clean energy solutions
Team
- Strong adaptable team with expertise in their problem space, willing to learn and adapt, and responsive to feedback and coaching
Impact
- Tracks (or will be tracking) impact metrics for microentrepreneur livelihoods with gender lens
Business requirements
- Registered and operational business in SSA
- For startups, valuation under $5M.
- Company has potential to reach at least 2,000 customers by the end of Y1 of the program.
- Has potential for or is exploring financial service provider partnerships
- Clear need for accelerator support
- Potential to scale and build resilience to negative climate change impacts among vulnerable communities.