SEED represented the interests of small and medium climate-smart enterprises at Innovate4Climate, held on May 22 and 24, 2018 at Kap Europa of Messe Frankfurt in Frankfurt, Germany. The conference brought together over 1200 stakeholders and over 280 speakers from policy-making, business, technology leaders, banking, finance, and government to discuss multilateral strategies on accelerating climate-smart investments to tackle climate change. The dialogue centered on four key themes: the business case for climate investment, NDC implementation, innovation for climate resilience, and the climate market and metrics.

Innovate4Climate highlighted the need for swift, decisive climate action, particularly by increasing investments and improving access globally to finance for low-carbon, climate-resilient development pathways. Given the limitations of traditional forms of funding, leveraging public resources and creating enabling environments for increased private-sector investments in climate-smart solutions is critical to mitigating global warming, meeting the Paris climate commitments and securing a low-carbon future.

Stakeholders at Innovate4Climate worked together to develop innovative financing instruments to support a low-carbon, climate-smart economy transition; mobilize private-sector investments in climate action; enable emerging markets to implement their NDCs, and to develop impact maximizing and cost minimizing approaches to the climate finance instruments identified in the Paris Agreement of 2016.

The conference was hosted by the World Bank Group, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUB), the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Food and Environment (MAPAMA) in collaboration with Fira de Barcelona and with event support from IETA.

Featured speakers included H.E. Tarek Al-Wazir, Minister of Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Development, State of Hessen; Rosemarie Heilig, Deputy Mayor for Environment and Women's Affairs, City of Frankfurt am Main; Hans Peter Lankes, Vice President, Economics and Private Sector Development, IFC; and Wiebe Draijer, Chairman of the Managing Board, Rabobank.

SEED promotes the drive for Climate-Smart Investments in SMEs

SEED was represented during the Pitch Hub at the high-level event by Rainer Agster, Director of Private Sector Cooperation. Innovate4Climate’s Pitch Hub is aimed at leveraging and scaling up private-sector finance for climate change mitigation and/or adaptation. The Pitch Hub brought together potential investors; leaders from climate investment, finance and markets; and participants who offer concrete initiatives and priorities for action.

During the Innovate4Climate event, Rainer Agster emphasized the role and significance of climate-smart enterprises, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). These enterprises operate at the nexus of Sustainable Development initiatives and climate action for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and adaptation to climate change. However, the success and sustainability of these climate-smart enterprises depend on accessible climate finance and investment flows targeted specifically at the unique needs of climate-smart business models.

SEED Practitioner Labs Climate Finance

SEED is actively addressing the financing challenges of climate-smart SMEs through the Practitioner Labs Climate Finance, which help stakeholders develop customized solutions. Well-designed climate finance products help to reduce risks, enhance expected financial returns or bridge existing infrastructure gaps for these enterprises. SEED Labs draw on the experience and expertise of practitioners to identify, prototype, and design the next generation of climate finance products; for example, to extend micro-insurance through weather indexing, renewable energy infrastructure financing and mainstreaming green finance in commercial banking.

Following the recent success of SEED Practitioner Labs Climate Finance in Uganda and South Africa, financial institutions, banks, investors and government authorities will join together for another series of Practitioner Labs Climate Finance on 29 June 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand and on 3 July 2018 in Mumbai, India.

The events are part of the implementation of “Financing and capacity building for micro and small climate-smart enterprises: Filling the gap of the missing middle”, a project supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) via the International Climate Initiative (IKI) and of "Promoting Eco-Entrepreneurship in Africa", a SWITCH-Africa Green multi-country project in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda.