Clime Capital, a Singapore-based fund manager, has announced the first close of its South East Asia Clean Energy Fund II (SEACEF II), amassing $127 million in commitments.
SEACEF II, a pioneering blended investment fund in Southeast Asia, aims to provide crucial early-stage, high-risk capital supporting businesses that drive the region’s low-carbon transition.
Following the success of its inaugural fund, SEACEF I, which launched in 2020 and yielded investments raising over 27 times the initial capital, SEACEF II continues the trend. The fund focuses on early-stage investments in renewable energy, energy efficiency, electric mobility, and electrical grid businesses.
Significant backing for the fund comes from a mix of junior first-loss equity investors, including philanthropic and government-supported organizations like Allied Climate Partners, Australian Development Investments, the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, and Impact Assets.
Senior equity investors include notable names such as British International Investment, the Cisco Foundation, FMO, the International Finance Corporation, Norfund, REI Co-op, and Swedfund International.
The fund’s establishment is timely, as recent data, including record-breaking temperatures in the 2023 northern hemisphere summer, highlights the urgency of mitigating climate change.
Mason Wallick, CEO of Clime Capital, emphasized the need for more businesses to focus on accelerating the low-carbon transition. Joshua Kramer, Chief Investment Officer at Clime Capital, highlighted their model’s effectiveness in leveraging small investments for significant impacts.
International leaders and fund partners expressed their support for SEACEF II. The Hon. Pat Conroy, Australia’s Minister for International Development and the Pacific, acknowledged the fund’s role in Southeast Asia’s net-zero transition, reflecting a collaborative approach combining public and private capital.
Srini Nagarajan of BII, Michael Jongeneel of FMO, Kelley Hall of REI Co-op, Ahmed Saeed of ACP, Felix Barwinek of Norfund, Gunilla Nilsson of Swedfund, and Mohamed Gouled of IFC lauded the fund’s innovative approach and alignment with their respective sustainability goals.
The first close of SEACEF II paves the way for Clime Capital to bolster its investment in clean energy projects and businesses across Southeast Asia, with several funding transactions currently underway. This move signifies a major step towards achieving a more sustainable and climate-resilient future in the region.
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