Climate Gender Equity Fund (CGEF) – Apply Now!

Deadline: 17-May-2024
Submissions are now open for the Climate Gender Equity Fund to increase access to finance for gender-responsive, women led, and women-benefiting climate solutions, with a preference for those that address the inextricable linkage between climate, gender, and health.

The Climate Gender Equity Fund (CGEF) is a public-private partnership led by USAID with founding members Amazon, Reckitt, The UPS Foundation, and Visa Foundation to increase access to climate finance for gender-responsive, women-led, and women-benefiting organisations that address climate change.

There is an ever-growing body of evidence that demonstrates the critical role women play in climate change mitigation and adaptation – women are innovators, leaders, entrepreneurs, employees, and customers in climate-related fields. Women and girls, especially from underrepresented and marginalised groups, are also disproportionately affected by natural and climate disasters given that they represent the majority of the world’s poor and are proportionally more dependent upon threatened natural resources.

Further, women’s and girls’ health and well-being are inextricably linked to gender equality and are impacted by the changing climate. For example, natural disasters such as droughts, floods, and storms tend to affect women more severely, often resulting in a higher number of casualties among women, particularly in regions where women’s socioeconomic status is lower. Additionally, women and girls disproportionately suffer health consequences in the aftermath of such climate-related disasters, for example during droughts when there is reduced water availability and increased food insecurity. Research has also shown that in times of disasters, women provide leadership and are the first ones on the ground to respond in their roles as providers and caretakers and they play a key role as innovators for creative solutions that positively impact their families and communities.

Grant Categories

• Category 1: A gender-smart and/or women-led emerging fund manager (including investment vehicles) investing in climate-smart solutions; or
  • Grants seek to support investment funds and vehicles aligned with the 2X Criteria and that advance climate solutions and increase gender equality by developing, scaling, and investing in climate mitigation and adaptation businesses and solutions. These investments are expected to not only drive environmental and gender-related impacts but preference will be given to those that also yield positive health outcomes as a direct objective or strong co-benefit of the intervention.
• Category 2: A network organisation or intermediary supporting women entrepreneurs at the forefront of climate action.
  • Grants seek to support intermediaries that facilitate financing or provide other forms of support to women entrepreneurs working at the frontlines of climate action (such as women entrepreneur networks, incubators, accelerators, business service providers, and field-building associations). Preference will be given to initiatives that are anticipated to contribute to improving health outcomes, either as a direct objective or through significant co-benefits derived from advancing climate resilience and sustainability in communities.

Funding Information

• CGEF anticipates awarding multiple grants under this RFP in each category with an aggregate value of up to $5 million (USD) for this funding round.
• CGEF is targeting grant tickets ranging between $500,000 to $1,000,000 (USD) depending on the proposed level of impact, the track record of the applicants in managing a similar volume of finance for climate and gender activities, and the catalytic nature of the grant finance provided by CGEF6.
• The final grant amounts will be determined, following due diligence, by 2X Global and an independent grant selection committee based on the strength of the application and the assessed capacity and track record of the applicant and could be lower or higher than the targeted range.
• Duration
  • For this funding round, CGEF expects to begin deploying grant funding in August 2024. Grant activities are expected to last for 18-24 months.

Eligible Funding

• Organisations may propose to use grant funding for a variety of purposes including building their own capacity to provide gender-smart and gender-transformative climate finance, sustaining their organisation through vital working capital, making track record deals and/or portfolio (revolving) investments, providing pre- or post-investment technical assistance (TA) to pipeline or portfolio companies and/or, in the case of network organisations, making grants to women entrepreneurs advancing climate-smart products or services.
• Preference will be given to proposals that include the use of funds to invest in or extend grant funding to women-led businesses leading climate solutions that also lead to positive health outcomes.
• Preference will also be given to proposals that emphasise how their use of funds will be catalytic, particularly for mobilising additional private capital for women-led climate solutions.

Geographic Scope

• Category 1 and 2 applicants must apply to use the grant funding for work and/ or investments made in countries where USAID works. Preference will be given to applicants who are deeply entrenched in their operating environment and possess an understanding of its context.

Eligibility Criteria

• To be eligible to receive grants from CGEF, organizations under both Category 1 and 2 must meet the following criteria:
  • Be registered, legally constituted, recognised by and in good standing with the appropriate authorities, and compliant with all applicable civil and fiscal regulations.
  • Demonstrate adequate administrative and financial systems to comply with accountability and reporting requirements.
  • Demonstrate evidence of financial stability, including adequate financial resources (appropriate for the stage of their business) or the ability to obtain them, as well as the ability to comply with the award conditions to ensure sustainability of results. This should take into account all existing and prospective commitments of the applicant.
  • Have a demonstrated satisfactory record of performance.
  • Have a satisfactory record of integrity and business ethics and be otherwise qualified and eligible to receive a grant under applicable laws and regulations.
  • Have a pre-existing track record of work under this RFP’s grant categories and/or geographies of operation.
  • Have the capacity/expertise in monitoring and reporting including against the CGEF determined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Ineligibility Criteria

• The following organizations are not eligible to apply for grant funding:
  • Partner government implementing entities including an office, organisation, or body at any level of a public administration system (ministry, department, agency, service, district, or municipality) including parastatals and quasi-governmental entities, and universities.
  • Public international organisations.
  • Political parties, groupings, or institutions or their subsidiaries and affiliates.
  • Organisations that advocate or promote anti-democratic policies or illegal activities.
  • Faith-based organisations whose objectives are for discriminatory and religious purposes, and whose main objective for the grant is of a religious nature.
  • Any organisation included in any supplementary information concerning prohibited individuals or entities that may be provided by USAID.
  • Any organisation whose name appears in the System for Award Management, www.SAM. gov, or visual compliance screening with an active exclusion.
  • An organisation that refuses to sign all required certifications and assurances required by CGEF.
  • Any organisation with a questionable reputation around gender equality for example, accusations of harassment, unequal pay, etc.

For more information, visit 2X Global.