Our Programme Criteria

Our Target Areas

Climate Mitigation Finance

Projects to reduce, limit or sequestrate GHG emissions.

Climate Adaptation Finance

Projects to adapt to current and expected effects of Climate Change.

Our Eligibility Criteria

Based on their Expression of Interest documents (phase 1), Applicants will be assessed on and need to comply with the following Eligibility Criteria:

Are you an Emerging Investment Manager?

The Fund manager (The "Applicant”) is a fund management or fund advisory company raising their first or second impact investment vehicle (the “Project”), excluding pilot portfolios under 10M.(1)
The Applicant will or intends to be duly authorized by a competent supervisory authority of an EU Member State; or subject to a regulatory and/or supervisory regime that is equivalent to that of EU Member States.(2)

The Applicant confirms that they will have at least 2 Key Persons that intend to join the programme as Members if selected.

Planning to set up an Impact Investment Vehicle

The Project will finance activities made with the intention to generate positive, measurable, and substantial impact. The Project will highlight if/how it is addressing unmet needs for specific target populations.(3)

The Project will have an integrated process in place to identify, manage, monitor, and measure the environmental, social, and governance impacts, both positive and negative, on 100% of its investments throughout the full investment cycle.

The Project will apply exclusion criteria in line with the List of activities excluded from the programme and ensure the compliance of its investments with the defined exclusion criteria.

With Climate Finance as its Primary Focus

The Project’s impact strategy must focus on relevant impact themes, with an intention to contribute to climate change mitigation and/or climate change adaption.(4)

The Project will have at least 75% of its assets contributing to one or more of these impact themes.

Aiming to Invest in Challenging Geographies

The Project will have a target portfolio consisting of investments in target countries above the programme minimum. Assets under management for every ICFA Cohort need to reach a minimum of 70% to be invested in countries eligible to receive international climate finance.(5)

Ready to be Accelerated?

The investment strategy is built from insights gained through the feasibility studies and the expertise of its team members, utilizing local networks and knowledge, but still to be refined.
The investment strategy presents a clear and internally coherent investment thesis, including the target sectors, geographies, investee types, development stages, financial instruments, ticket sizes and investment criteria.
The investment manager team boasts a sufficient array of expertise necessary for the successful launch of the fund. This expertise includes fund / vehicle management, investment management, investment acumen, technical proficiency, structuring, legal competencies, pipeline development, and fundraising capabilities.
The investment strategy is meaningfully differentiated from existing financing available in the target market and responds to a clearly evidenced financing gap affecting particular geographies, sectors, business models or investee groups.
The investment manager team's demonstrates sufficient time and financial commitment.

Accelerating Impact reserves the right to update the eligibility criteria, the selection criteria, and the exclusion policy at any time. Accelerating Impact has final authority in case any conflicts arise between the eligibility criteria, the selection criteria, the exclusion policy, and any other classification systems, taxonomies, or policies.

(1) Eligible Applicants are unlisted entities, typically young companies with limited resources, that are initiating their first or second institutional vehicle, with the objective to advise and/or manage this vehicle. Managed accounts, SPVs, and pilot vehicles with limited AUM are not considered institutional vehicles. If the Applicant is part of a group of companies, i.e., multiple companies which are directly or indirectly controlled by a controlling entity, eligibility will consider on a group basis. Consortiums of non-eligible entities can be considered eligible if the parties are in process of establishing an eligible entity, subject to the group-level considerations.

(2) The equivalence of regulatory and/or supervisory frameworks of non-EU countries with the EU framework will be assessed premised on the equivalence decisions of the European Commission and the Luxembourg national supervisory authority.

(3) The notion of measurable impact refers to the ability to 1) identify strategic impact objectives, 2) quantify and assess the outcomes using recognized frameworks and methodologies which may include, but not only: the Impact Reporting & Investment Standards + (IRIS+), the Theory of Change, or the Operating Principles for Impact Management (OPIM), and 3) mobilise the necessary resources to implement the impact measurement process.

(4) For the ICFA Programme: Climate impact themes are defined according to internationally and/or regionally agreed classification systems and taxonomies around climate change mitigation and/or climate change adaptation, including without limitation the MDBs’ Common Principles for Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Finance Tracking. Please see Non-exhaustive list of activities eligible for social finance through the ISFA program.

(5) For the ICFA Programme: at least 70% of the Fund’s Assets Under Management (“AUM”) shall be invested in countries eligible to receive international climate finance, as defined by the Countries and regions | Green Climate Fund. Any portion of the Fund’s investments deployed outside such eligible countries shall be limited in scope and shall remain consistent with the Fund’s climate-focused mandate and investment strategy.

Our Selection Criteria

Based on their Draft / Final Application documents (phase 2 and 3), Applicants will be assessed on the following Selection Criteria:

Investment Strategy and Impact Thesis

Coherence: The investment strategy presents a clear and internally coherent investment thesis, including the target sectors, geographies, investee types, development stages, financial instruments, ticket sizes and investment criteria. The proposed portfolio construction, diversification and risk-management approach are appropriate to the fund’s objectives.
Market Feasibility: The investment strategy is supported by credible market analysis, relevant technical and investment expertise, local knowledge and reliable sources of recent information. Its core assumptions regarding market demand, investment opportunities, risk and expected returns are clearly articulated and reasonably substantiated. (recent meaning 5 years)
Origination and Deployment: The investment manager demonstrates a credible approach to sourcing, assessing and executing investments, supported by relevant origination channels and an indicative pipeline appropriate to the fund’s stage of development. The proposed deployment pace and approach to supporting investees are realistic and consistent with the investment strategy.
Impact Outcomes: The fund articulates a clear and credible impact thesis explaining practically how its investment activities are expected to generate material climate and development outcomes for the intended beneficiaries. The theory of change establishes a logical connection between the fund’s activities, portfolio level outputs and intended outcome.
Impact Management: Impact and ESG considerations are meaningfully integrated throughout the investment lifecycle, including screening, due diligence, investment decision-making, portfolio management and exit. The fund proposes proportionate indicators, targets, monitoring and reporting processes, together with appropriate approaches to impact risk, negative impacts, DNSH and responsible exit.
Non-financial support is provided to investees that a) materially improves the impact outcomes of the companies and fund, and/or b) mitigates ESG risk, and/or c) supports the long-term financial sustainability of the investee, even after the fund's exit.

Innovation and Market Opportunity

Differentiation: The investment strategy is meaningfully differentiated from existing financing available in the target market and responds to a clearly evidenced financing gap affecting particular geographies, sectors, business models or investee groups.
Geography: The fund’s geographic score is calculated automatically based on the anticipated proportion of investment deployed across priority country classifications, using the geographic weighting methodology established for the selection process.

Team, Management and Governance

Experience: Beyond the minimum team requirement of 2 key persons, The team collectively has the operational know-how, and necessary diversity of expertise in the targeted geographies, sectors, and themes to implement the impact and investment strategy. This includes experience in managing impact deals including impact management. If the minimum requirement is not met, the score is 0.
Capability: The proposed management company has a credible operating model, including appropriate staffing, internal responsibilities, systems and processes for managing investments, operations, compliance, risk and impact, without excessive relying on external service providers. The organisational plan is proportionate to the fund’s size and stage and demonstrates a realistic path towards becoming a durable fund-management institution.
Governance: The fund has or proposes clear and appropriate governance arrangements, including transparent ownership, decision-making authority, investment committee responsibilities, conflicts-of interest management and oversight.
Incentive: The ownership, economics and incentive arrangements support alignment among the team, the fund and its investors. Material key-person, succession, concentration or governance risks are identified and credibly addressed.
Commitment: The team demonstrates adequate personal and financial commitment (i.e. min 1% of capital plus sweat equity by each key person) to strive for the success of the fund and have adequate financial means to endure delays in the Project’s set-up process.
Local Presence: The fund demonstrates meaningful operational and decision-making presence within its target markets. Local embeddedness is assessed based on the proportion of relevant investment and portfolio-management FTEs primarily resident and working in the fund’s target markets, together with the location of senior management and investment decision-making authority.
Local Presence: The fund demonstrates meaningful operational and decision-making presence within its target markets. Local embeddedness is assessed based on the proportion of relevant investment and portfolio-management FTEs primarily resident and working in the fund’s target markets, together with the location of senior management and investment decision-making authority.

Fund Design, Economics, And Operational Readiness

Fund Design: The proposed fund design is appropriate to the investment strategy, target investees and intended investors. The fund size, investment period, fund term, instruments, ticket sizes, capital deployment and recycling provisions are mutually coherent and suitable for the intended portfolio. The proposed legal and operational structure is proportionate to the fund’s needs and does not introduce unnecessary complexity, cost or constraints.
Financial Model: The integrated fund and GP financial model is complete, internally consistent and causally linked. Its principal assumptions—including fundraising, deployment, investment performance, fees, operating costs, follow-on requirements, portfolio loss, exits and cash flows—are clearly stated and supported by the investment strategy and proposed portfolio. The model identifies material sensitivities and demonstrates that the fund and management company remain viable under reasonable downside scenarios.
GP Viability: The fund and GP economics are realistic at the proposed fund size, appropriately reflect the expected workload and do not depend on unsupported fundraising, fee or cost assumptions.

Fundraising Strategy and Market Validation

Market Fit: The fund presents a clear and compelling proposition for the investor segments it intends to target. The manager demonstrates an understanding of the mandates, return expectations, risk appetite, geographic and impact priorities, ticket sizes and decision-making requirements of those investors. The proposed fund terms, structure and investment strategy are reasonably aligned with the needs of the identified investor base, and the manager can clearly articulate why investors should allocate to the fund rather than to available alternatives.
Fundraising Strategy: The Applicant has crafted a cohesive fundraising strategy including clearly prioritised investor segments and profiles, realistic fundraising stages, and a phased approach to different investor types informed by a feasibility study or market feedback.
Engagement: The manager demonstrates credible engagement with prospective investors and other relevant market participants, appropriate to the fund’s stage of development. Evidence may include substantive investor discussions, documented feedback, repeat engagement, due-diligence processes, expressions of interest, pipeline partnerships, anchor discussions or commitments. Where relevant, the manager demonstrates that market feedback has been critically assessed and, where appropriate, used to refine the fund strategy, structure, terms or fundraising approach.

Our Selection Committee

Accelerating Impact has appointed an independent Selection Committee for the ICFA, which uses its in-depth expertise in impact investing to propose a balanced selection of innovative and promising managers.